
\t\o. fa5durc<ts * n <t ^tf tactions 
St. Louis, 1&04-. 






Book ______ 

Copyright N? 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



\Al\Voi\ 

-THE 



RESOURCES AND ATTRACTIONS 



— OP 



I DAHO 



FACT8 ON FARMING, 8TOCK - RAISING, MINING, LUMBERING, AND OTHER 

INDU8TRIES, AND NOTES ON CLIMATE, SCENERY, GAME, FISH, 

AND HEALTH AND PLEA8URE RESORTS. 



COMPLIMENTS OF THE 



PASSENGER DEPARTMENT. 



SEVENTH EDITION. 



rp 



J^-A^tsyf 



ST. LOUIS. 
Woodward A Tiernan Printing Co., 309-319 North Third Street. 

1894. 






A COMPLETE AND 

COMPREHENSIVE DESCRIPTION 

OF THE AGRICULTURAL, STOCK-RAISING 

AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF IDAHO; ALSO STATIST K> 

IN REGARD TO ITS CLIMATE, ETC., 

COMPILED FROM THE LATEST 

REPORTS. 



SEVENTH EDITION. 



Omaha, March 1, 1894. 



Copyright, 1894, by E. L. LOMAX, General Passenger and Ticket Agent. 
Union Pacific System, Omaha, Neb. 



AN OUTLINE. 



Idaho is imperial in extent. Its area is greater than that of New York, 
New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire combined. 

Its climate is proved by official reports of leading nations to be the 
healthiest in the world. 

Its arable belts enjoy the influence of the warm currents of the Pacific, 
and are of grand proportions, and unexcelled for productiveness. 

Its mineral fields are among the largest in the world, and they have 
produced, and are now producing, the richest ores known in the history of 
mining. 

It contains a diversity of other resources not surpassed by any region of 
similar extent in our Union. 

It is now rendered easily accessible by the Union Pacific Railway and 
its branches, and possesses water communications with the Pacific Ocean. 
These avenues insure the producer every facility for transportation, and the 
settler of the immediate future a very rapid increase in the value of his 
possessions, whatever they may be. 

With such a vast extent of public domain unoccupied, and presenting 
opportunities no more to be enjoyed in the East or "Middle West," for 
acquiring homes and wealth, Idaho also possesses many of the religious, 
educational and social advantages of those localities. 



CONTENTS. 



Location, Area, and Physical Features. — An Empire of Mineral, 
Farming, Grazing, and Forest Lands — Lake Area — Principal • 
Mountain Ranges and Beautiful Alternating Valleys — The Snake 
River Lava Belt 7 

Climatology and Health. — Latitude and Oceanic Influences Similar 
to Those of the Garden-Spots of Europe — Comparisons of Tempera- 
ture with Eastern States — A Land of Perfect Sunshine — The 
Healthiest Region in the World 8 

Rivers, Watercourses, and Springs. — Swift, Noble Rivers, Abound- 
ing in Magnificent Scenes, in all Sections — Myriads of Cold Springs, 
Large and Small — Illimitable Power and Bounteous Supply of 
Water for Irrigation 13 

Timber. — Varieties of Trees and Product Per Square Mile of the Dif- 
ferent Forests — Timber Convenient to All Sections 14 

The Soil of Idaho. — Great Variety and Excellence of Soils — Valley, 

Plain, and Mountain Soils — Effects of Irrigation on the Soils 16 

Diversity of Idaho Agriculture. — From Cotton and Tobacco in the 
Low-Lands to Hardy Vegetables in the Mountain Valleys — The 
Science and Advantages of Irrigation — Idaho Excels all States and 
Territories in Average yield of wheat, Rye, Oats, Barley, Potatoes 
and Corn — Hay, Fruits, and Vegetables the Most Profitable Crops — 
Agricultural Development 17 

Wealth and Population. — Rapid Progress of Idaho — Population of 
each County — Various Developments in a Nutshell 21 

Government Lands. — Description of Government Lands in Various 
. Parts of Idaho — Extent of all the Prominent Valleys — Adapta- 
tion of Certain Crops to Each Particular Region — The Different 
Land Districts and Amount of Arable Lands in Each — Prices Paid 
for Crops 23 

How to Obtain Government Land. — The Pre-emption, Homestead, 

Timber Culture, and Desert Land Acts 30 

Railways. — The Union Pacific and Various Branches Render all 
Prominent Districts Easily Accessible — The Superb River and Val- 
ley System Renders Railway Extension to the Most Remote Sec- 
tions Easy — Stage and Wagon Roads 31 

Mining. — The Principal Industry of Idaho — Large Copper Mines — 
Total Production of Gold, Silver, Lead and Copper in 1889 and 
1890— Productions of Valuable Metals to Date 38 

(5) 



6 CONTENTS. 

Labor. — Wages Paid — Intelligent Class of Workmen — Farmers Pros- 
perous 40 

Outline of Counties. — Brief Description of Every County in Idaho — 
Location, Area, Resources and Leading Characteristics of Each.. 42 

Fruit Culture. — Large Orchards of Boise Valley — A Wonderful Apple 
and Peach Country, and a Very Eden for Plums and Prunes — Idaho 
Orchards Supply Surrounding Territories — Details of Producing 
and Marketing Fruit 102 

Stock Raising. — The Land of Bunch Grass and White Sage — Unlimited 
Area of Summer Pasturage — The Industry as Now Conducted in 
Various Sections — Fast Stock Trains of the Union Pacific — Exper- 
iences of Leading Stock Men 105 

Wool Growing. — More Profitable than Any Other Branch of Stock 
Raising — The Rapid Rise of Some Poor Herders — Natural Habitat 
of the Sheep — Weight of Fleeces and Their Rapid Improvement — 
Wool and Mutton Product in 1888 106 

Dairying. — Better Openings for Dairymen than in Anything Else — The 
Cattle King Buys His Butter and Condensed Milk — Large Imports 
of Butter and Cheese to the Best Dairying Region in the World — 
Free Locations in Hundreds of Mountain Parks and Glens 114 

Manufacturing. — A Grand New Field for Many Enterprises — Water- 
Power at Every Turn — Inexhaustible Quantities of Iron,Coal, Copper, 
and Other Minerals, with Wool, Hides, Wheat, Timber, and Other 
Raw Materials in Abundance 115 

Educational Advantages. — Rapid Development of Public Schools — 
Liberal School Laws — Superb Public School Buildings — Teachers' 
Salaries 116 

Useful Minerals, Etc. — Iron, Coal, Copper, Lead, Cinnabar and Salt — 
Abundance of Marble, Granite, Building Stone, Brick, Clay, Mica, 
Potter's Clay, and Other Useful Products of Mother Earth 118 

Fishing and Hunting. — Idaho, the Earthly Paradise of the Sportsman — 
Trout, Salmon, and the Famous Red Fish — The Various Species of 
Bear, Deer, Elk, Antelope, Etc., Geese, Ducks, Chickens, Grouse, 
and Other Small Game — Best Points for Rendezvous 121 

Pleasure and Health Resorts. — For These No Region Compares with 
Idaho — Enchanting Beauty of Many Alpine Lakes — The Glory of 
Wondrous Cataracts, Purity of the Air, and the Efficacy of Medicinal 
Waters — Soda Springs, Shoshone Falls, Hailey Hot Springs, and 
Other Grand Resorts — Saw Tooth, Payette, and Numerous Other 
Lakes 122 

Business Openings. — Opportunities for Capital — New Avenues Continu- 
ally Presented — Large Outfitting Houses 130 

Idaho's Agriculture. — Crop Statistics — Live Stock Statistics — Finest 
Climate on the Globe — Abundant Pasturage 131 

Idaho Altitudes 132 



IDAHO. 



LOCATION, AREA, AND PHYSICAL FEATURES. 

Idaho is an Indian word, which, being translated, means "Gem of the 
Mountains." The first white man who set foot upon the soil of Idaho was 
Captain Lewis, with a detachment of Lewis and Clark's exploring expedi- 
tion. Captain Lewis crossed the main range of the Rocky Mountains from 
Horse Plains, now known as Horse Prairie, in Beaverhead county, Montana, 
to the Lemhi, a tributary of Salmon River, on the 12th day of August, 1805. 
Five years later the Missouri Fur Company established a trading post on 
Snake River, but soon after abandoned it. In 1811, Wilson P. Hunt, with 
sixty men of the Pacific Fur Company, passed through Idaho to the Pacific 
coast. In 1834, Captain Bonneville, with his company of nearly one hun- 
dred men, spent part of the season in Eastern Idaho, exploring the head 
waters of the Snake and Salmon rivers. In the same year a party of traders 
and trappers, commanded by Nathaniel I. Wythe, established Fort Hall as 
a trading post, near Snake River, and on the present Fort Hall Indian 
Reservation. 

In 1860 2£>!d in paying quantities was discovered in Idaho by a party of 
prospectors, commanded by Capt. James Pierce, from Walla Walla Valley, 
Washington. The first locations were on Oro Fino creek, a tributary of 
the Clearwater. Other valuable discoveries followed in rapid succession. 
The first permanent settlement was made at Mount Idaho, the present 
county seat of Idaho county, May, 1861. 

Idaho was created a Territory by act of Congress, March 3, 1863, from 
parts of Dakota, Nebraska and Washington Territories. Originally it em- 
braced within its boundaries about 325,000 square miles. By the creation 
of the Territories of Montana and Wyoming, under the act of Congress May 
25, 1868, Idaho was finally reduced to 86,294 square miles, or 55,228,160 
acres. It extends from the British Possessions on the north to Utah and 
Nevada on the south ; from Montana and Wyoming on the east to Oregon 
and Washington on the w r est ; having a length from north to south of about 
410 miles, and a width from east to west varying from 44 to 306>£ miles. 
Idaho was admitted as a State into the Union July 3, 1890. 

There are 18,400,000 acres classed as mountainous, 15,000,000 acres agri- 
cultural lands, 7,000,000 acres of forests, 25,000,000 acres grazing lands, and 
some 600,000 acres lakes. Its vast mineral belts are included in the moun- 
tain area, as are also most of its forests. 

Stretching along its eastern edge, and separating Idaho from Montana 
and Wyoming, are the rugged mountains of the Bitter Root, Rocky and 



8 IDAHO. 

Wahsatch ranges, the Bitter Root occupying the northern, the Rocky the 
central, and the Wahsatch the southern links in this boundary. The 
"spurs" of these ranges, especially of the Wahsatch, extend well over into 
Idaho, and they contain some of the State's best mineral belts. Their 
highest peaks reach altitudes ranging from 9,000 to 13,000 feet. On the 
south and southwest are the Owyhee Mountains, which form an important 
link in the great divide between the waters of the Columbia and those of 
the Humboldt. The Sawtooth, Salmon River, Wood River, and Boise are 
among the prominent mountain ranges in Central Idaho. On the west are 
the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington. Idaho is, therefore, prac- 
tically mountain-locked, although from the south, southeast and west there 
are numerous depressions through which railway and wagon roads find 
easy, natural access. The interior of the State is a vast plateau, varying in 
altitude from 600 feet above the sea in its lowest valleys, to 10,000 on the 
tops of its highest peaks. The average elevation is from 2,000 to 3,000 feet 
less than that of Wyoming, Utah, Nevada or Colorado. Its numerous moun- 
tain ranges run in a variety of directions, the trend of the principal ones, 
however, being southeast to northwest. In these interior ranges are the 
mineral belts which first attracted general attention to the then Territory. 

Alternating and nestling among the mountain ranges are many valleys, 
large and small, affording in the aggregate a vast area of agricultural lands 
not exceeded in fertility by any in the world. Through these meander a 
river system well worthy of the extended notice which is given in succeed- 
ing pages. The arable portions of the valleys lie from 600 to 6,000 feet 
above the sea, and they range in size from one to twenty miles in width, 
and from twenty to one hundred miles in length. 

Traversing Southern Idaho is the extensive volcanic belt on the basin of 
Snake River. This basin stretches far into neighboring States, being 800 
miles in length. In Idaho it averages about fifty miles in w T idth. Some of 
the best valleys traverse it, but it is more noteworthy as the great winter 
grazing region of this and adjacent States. Its nutritious herbs and grasses 
fatten thousands of cattle and sheep annually. 

CLIMATOLOGY AND HEALTH. 

The State of Idaho is in the same latitude as France, Switzerland, por- 
tions of Italy, Spain and Portugal. It is subject to oceanic influences very 
similar to those countries, and necessarily has a somewhat similar climate. 
All this region is near enough to the Pacific Ocean to be noticeably affected 
by its currents. By reference to any map whereon these ocean currents are 
shown, it will be seen that the great Japan current (Kuro Siwa) — that 
mighty stream of warm water — bears directly against the western shores of 
America. The temperature of the winds blowing over it is, of course, 
affected by its heat, and they carry their modifying influences inland hun- 
dreds of miles, even extending their genial influences upon the climate of 
Montana. Cast your eye over a climatic map exhibiting the extreme north- 
ern line of wheat production, for instance, and you will find that, while on 
the eastern shore it touches near the mouth of the St. Lawrence at lati- 






IDAHO. & 

tude 50°, it runs In the northwest nearly 1,000 mile* north of the most noi 
therly part of Idaho. 

The average or mean annual temperature at Lewiston, in Northori 
Idaho, is 56°, a milder showing by five degrees than is made by Ohio, mildei 
by ten degrees than Iowa, and milder by twelve degrees than Maine and 
New Hampshire. Boise City, in Western Central Idaho, with a much greater 
altitude than Lewiston, has an average temperature of 51°, the same as 
Ohio, and four degrees warmer than Connecticut. The rain and snow fall at 
Lewiston is about twenty -four inches; at Boise City about half that amount. 
At Boise City the lowest record during seven consecutive winters was 12 c 
below zero in January, and the highest 108° in July. The United States 
signal officer, reports that mercury sank below zero only four times during 
one period of five years. The coldest weather recorded in twenty years was 
the exceptional January, 1888, when mercury sank to 27° below zero. The 
prevailing winds are south-southwest, averaging twelve miles an hour, and 
never exceeding thirty. 

While Boise City is a fair representative; in the matter of climate, of th$ 
various agricultural sections, it should be borne in mind that the much more 
elevated mining districts have winters as harsh, in most ways, as any of the 
regions of the Allegheny or Blue Ridge Mountains. Our best authorities on 
climatology, however, agree that in the dry, rarefied atmosphere of Idaho, and 
the mountainous regions adjoining on the east, there is a difference of about 
twenty degrees in the intensity of the heat or cold in favor of those regions, 
when compared with the same temperature in the raw and humid atmosphere 
of the Atlantic Coast region. In other words, a temperature of 105 c in Idaho 
is only equal in its effects upon the system to one of 85° at Boston or New 
York; or the extreme cold temperature of Boise City of 12° below zero, is as 
easily endured as that of 8° above at any point in the Eastern States. 
Referring to this peculiarity of the Idaho climate, Hon E. A. Stevenson, 
late Governor of the Territory, says.— 

"The lowest temperature in the history of the Boise Signal Station was 
—27.8°, en January 16, 1888. At this time the signal officer regularly 
walked from his office to his residence* and back without an overcoat, and 
he noticed many other men on the streets without overcoats. Such habits 
are very possible in the exceptionally fine climate of Idaho. This occurred 
during the twenty days when a thousand persons froze to death between 
the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. Rarely ever does the tem- 
perature fall to zero. This highly oxygenated atmosphere is specially 
adapted to the cure of catarrh, consumption, and many diseases in which 
a cure depends upon a purification of the blood. At this date, October 9th, 
there has been no frost. The most tender vines and flowers are as vigorous 
and fresh as in the spring." 

Sunstroke and hydrophobia are never known in Idaho, and although open- 
air work is carried on every day in winter, and an important proportion of 
the population live among the mines and on the stock ranges, in the rudest 
kind of shelter, the year round, a case of severe freezing as a result of such 
exposure is never heard of. The sky is usually free from clouds, and sun- 
shiny days are the rule. Idaho averages 260 days of perfect sunshine per 



10 



IDAHO. 



year, and 300 fair days, as against 191 fair days in Boston, and 170 at Buf- 
falo and Chicago. Of 600 cyclones recently reported by the United States 
Signal Service as occurring during a long series of years, not one was 
reported in Idaho. Floods or other storms destructive of life and property 
are almost unknown in the history of this region. During harvest time 
there is rarely any rainfall; in fact, such a catastrophe as loss of crops from 
drouth or flood would be considered phenomenal. The absence of showers is 
not felt, because of the beneficial distribution of lands and streams suitable for 
irrigation. There is rarely enough snow for] sleighing in the valleys, 
although it is abundant in the' mountains. 

The influence of climate upon agriculture, stock-raising, or mere per- 
sonal comfort is very important, but its effect upon the health is paramount 
to every other consideration. Statistics prove Idaho the healthiest country 
in the world. A careful study of the official reports which follow is better 
than the reading of volumes of glittering generalities so often put forth in 
the interest of the many noted health resorts. The figures prove beyond 
question the truth of the above claim as to Idaho's healthfulness. 

According to the mortality statistics, taken in connection with our 
National census, the death rate in Idaho is less than in any other State or 
Territory, as will be seen from the following table, giving the exact figures 
of the census. The percentage of deaths was as follows: — 



Idaho ., ... 0.33 

Alabama 1.08 

Arizona 2.61 

Arkansas 1.26 

California ,.,.,. .., 1.61 

Colorado 0.94 

Connecticut 1 .26 

Dakota , 0.71 

Delaware 1 .25 

Louisiana 2.00 

Maine 1.23 

Maryland 1.24 

Massachusetts 1 . 77 

Michigan 0.94 

Minnesota 0.80 

Mississippi — 1.11 

Missouri 1.53 

Montana 0.90 

Nebraska 0.81 

Nevada 1.45 

New Hampshire I.d5 

New Jersey 1.17 

New Mexico 1.28 

NewYork 1.58 



District of Columbia 1.53 

Florida 1.21 

Georgia 1.15 

Illinois . v 1.33 

Indiana 1.03 

Iowa 81 

Kansas 1 .25 

Kentucky 1 .09 

North Carolina 98 

Ohio 1.11 

Oregon 0.69 

Pennsylvania 1.49 

Rhodelsland . ... 1 26 

South Carolina 1.05 

Tennessee 1.13 

Texas 1 .37 

Utah 1.03 

yermont 1.07 

Virginia 1.24 

Washington 0.93 

West Virginia 0.91 

Wisconsin 0.94 

Wyoming 0.81 



It will be observed that the mortality of California — the praises of whose 
climate are carolled in all civilized tongues — is nearly five times greater 
than that of Idaho: Colorado, a summer land which is most deservedly the 
resort of tens of thousands of health seekers annually, exhibits a mortality 
nearly three times as great as that of Idaho, while Florida, "where 'tis 
springtimeall the year," and where our best physicians of all Eastern States 
unite In directing multitudes of patients, makes a showing about three times 
less favorable than that of Idaho. 

But it is sometimes insisted that the United States Army mortality 
statistics are the more valuable, because the troops of the United States 
Army are subjected to exactly the same conditions and surroundings, and 



IDAHO. 11 

have the same habits everywhere, more nearly than any other class of 
people. Their food, clothing, medical attendance, and places of abode are 
nearly identically the same wherever they go; consequently, comparing the 
ratio of mortality among them in these different regions leads to a more 
correct estimate of the actual healthfulness of each region than'could possi- 
bly be obtained in any other way* 

According to official reports of the Surgeon-General of the United States 
Army, the percentage of deaths from disease to each 1,000 soldiers in the 
different military districts of the Union are as follows, the results having 
been the average of many years: — 

Localities. Deaths each year from Disease, 

Gulf States 22.50 

Atlantic Coast States...., , ,. ... ... 17 83 

Arizona : 12.11 

Pennsylvania and Michigan.. = .-...... ..», , 6.05 

New Mexico , ... , 7.77 

Montana , 5.62 

Calif ornio . ...,..., 6 . 88 

Dakota 4.76 

Wyoming ;. 4.71 

Idaho ...?.. 3.74 

Or let us compare the prevalence"of certain diseases in the different parts 
of the United States. In an equal number of the soldiers in the different 
departments during the years 1868 and 1869, the number of cases of sick- 
ness (not deaths) by malarial fever, stood nearly in the following propor- 
tion: — 

Department of the East , 30 

Department of the South . . . . , 60 

Department of the Lakes 50 

New Mexico, Indian Territory, Kansas, Arkansas, and Missouri, over 40 

Wyoming, Nebraska, and Utah , 20 

Montana, Dakota, and Minnesota, nearly , 10 

Department of the Columbia (Oregon, Washington, and Idaho) .... 10 

Department of California 20 

Department of Arizona 160 

Or compare the mortality, in the different sections, by the great destroyer 
)f human life, consumption, and other respiratory diseases. There die an- 
nually in every 1,000 soldiers, by consumption, pneumonia, etc.: — 

In Florida, an average of .'. 2.75 

In Texas 3 

In New Mexico and Arizona 3.15 

In California, a little more than 3 

In Idaho, only 1.6 

So that combining these two set of statistics, both in regard to the entire 
mortality, and also to the mortality by the principal diseases, we have Idaho 
shown to be the very healthiest part of the UiiUed States. 

But wo will go farther, and repeat that, so far as we have the vital sta- 
tistics, to determine, there is no climate in the world that can compare with 
that of Idaho. Take Italy, the South of France, and Algiers, to which in- 
valids are sent, both the civil and military statistics show a much higher 
mortality there than here. In presenting the following figures, as well as 
the preceding, perfect fairness has been observed. Particular years are 
taken, not at all because they favor a theory, but because they are obtain- 
able and in form to be compared. The death rate per annum, by all dis- 



12 IDAHO. 

eases, in the Italian army, from 1860 to 1876, was about 11 in 1,000. Among 
the soldiers of the French army, stationed in the south of France, in 1872, 
it was 10 in 1,000. In the French army in Algiers, during the years 1863, 
1864, 1866, and 1870, it was 14.50, while in Idaho, the death rate, from 1868 
to 1881, was only 3.75 in 1,000 by all diseases. 

Or let us compare the figures for the diseases of the respiratory organs, 
including consumption, pneumonia, etc., and we have among the soldiers in 
the South of France (including the health 'resorts of Nice, Mentone, etc.), 
for the year 1872, an average death rate, by these diseases, of 2.4 per 1,000 
annually. In the French army in Algeria, during the years 1863, 1864, and 
1866, it was, by these diseases, more than 3 in 1,000 annually; and in the 
Italian army during the years 1867, 1868, 1869, 1874, 1875, and 1876, the 
deaths by respiratory diseases, including consumption, etc., averaged nearly 
4 in 1,000 annually, while in Idaho the mortality by these diseases, from 1870 
to 1881, was less than 1 in 1,000 annually. 

All this is confirmed in a remarkable manner by the records of the medi- 
cal department of the British army from 1859 to 1879. These records show the 
sanitary condition of the British soldiers, the disease and deaths which oc* 
cur in every military station in the British Dominions, and consequently rep- 
resent the healthfulness or unhealthfulness of climate in portions of every 
quarter of the globe — Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, and 
Islands of Australia, New Zealand, and the East and West Indies — a mass 
of official, and certainly very valuable statistics. 

From 1859 to 1879, at the British stations of Gibraltar, the Ionian 
Islands, and Malta, in the supposed sanitary zone of the Mediterranean, we 
find an average death rate, by all diseases, of about 7.5, 8.4, and 10.5, 
respectively, in each 1,000 troops per annum, and by respiratory diseases, 
including consumption, pneumonia, etc., of 2 in 1,000, being more than 
twice as great -as in Idaho. In Australia we find a death rate from all dis- 
eases, of 12 in each 1,000 troops annually, and by respiratory diseases, of 
over 5 in 1,000. In New Zealand, of 8.75 by all diseases, and nearly 3 per 
1,000 by respiratory diseases. Japan, China, and the East Indies are much 
worse, having a mortality of from 14 to 25 in 1,000 troops. In the West 
Indies it is, by all diseases, from 10 to 12 and 13 in 1,000, and by respiratory 
diseases, over 2 per annum. In England itself, the mortality is about 8 in 
1,000 soldiers, by all diseases annually, and by respiratory diseases, over 3.5. 
In Canada it is between 6 and 7 per 1,000 by all diseases, and over 2 by res- 
piratory diseases; while in British Columbia, lying immediately north of 
Idaho, and having a climate quite similar, the death rate per annum for the 
four and a half years the British troops were there, was a little over 3 in 
1,000 (3.04) by all diseases, being almost exactly the same as among our own sol- 
diers in Idaho, in the department of the Columbia, so similarly situated. 
Indeed, the British troops were stationed less than fifty miles from our 
boundary line. 

Thus after making the circuit of the globe in search of health, we come 
back to find Idaho and the country adjacent to it — extending from the 
Rocky Mountams to the coast regions — the healthiest country, so far as we 
have any positive and reliable evidence, in the world. 






IDAHO. ia 

With the possibility of living at any desired elevation above the sea 
level; with a rarefied, dry, pure atmosphere, with almost constantly bright, 
genial sunshine; with a light, dry soil, and with an abundance of pure 
water, fresh from mountain streams, or medicinal waters from numerous 
springs, is it any wonder that Idaho is the healthiest region in the world? 
Children born here are strong and sturdy, and diseases incident to childhood 
never assume a malignant form. Endemic and epidemic diseases are almost 
unknown. There are no low, swampy lands here, malaria cannot exist, and 
fever and ague have no foothold. Consumption, that " dread disease 
which medicine never cured, riches never warded off, nor poverty could 
boast exemption from," which is the scourge and terror of New England 
and all other moist climates, is either here cured, or modified so as to pro- 
long life for many years. The dryness, purity and antiseptic properties of 
the air have a tendency to counteract and reduce the excessive mucous 
collections, while its rarefaction makes necessary more frequent and deeper 
respirations, thus causing a wholesome expansion of the lungs. The bright, 
warm days are conducive to a cheerful and hopeful feeling, which is a great 
aid in overcoming the disease, while the cool nights are productive of 
sound, invigorating sleep. These influences are no less effective in rheu- 
matism, asthma, bronchitis, liver complaint, dyspepsia, and many other dis- 
eases. In the various mineral springs, both hot and cold, with which the 
State abounds, the patient afflicted with scrofulous or glandular diseases 
finds veritable pools of Bethesda. 

RIVERS, WATER-COURSES, AND SPRINGS. 

Of swift, noble rivers, Idaho has its scores. With the exception of a 
comparatively small portion of Southeastern Idaho, whose waters flow into 
the Basin of Great Salt Lake, the river system of Idaho is entirely tributary 
to the Valley of the great Columbia River. There are three important 
rivers in Idaho which empty directly into the Columbia, namely, the Spo- 
kane, Clark's Fork, and the Snake. Snake river meanders through the 
eastern, southern and western parts of the State for over 1,000 miles, 
and, next to Niagara, boasts the most imposing cataract on the Continent — 
the great Shoshone Falls. It rises among the most marvelous scenes of the 
Yellowstone National Park, within a few feet of the crystal founts from 
which springs that great tributary of the Mississippi — the Yellowstone, and 
within sight of the headwaters of that grand inlet of the Gulf of Califor- 
nia — the Rio Colorado. Here, at its romantic start, the Snake is also only 
a day's ride from its twin torrent of the North, Clark's Fork, but soon 
sweeps southward 500 miles, as if to gather in the waters of wider and 
richer fields. Again, flowing majestically northward to mark the boundary 
between Idaho and Oregon, it unites, when within 400 miles of the Pacific, 
with the Clark's Fork system to form the Columbia. It will lead the reader 
toward a true appreciation of the wondrous volume of the Snake River, 
when he is informed that soundings oi the deep, blue stream in Eastern 
Idaho, near the crossing of the Utah Northern Railway, fail to discover 
bottom at 240 feet. 



14 IDAHO, 

The Salmon, Boise, Payette, Weiser, and Wood Rivers drain Central »nd 
Southern Idaho, flowing into the Snake River from the north. The Clear- 
water, Clark's Fork, Coeur d'Alene, St. Joseph, and Kootenai are all great 
rivers in Northern Idaho. The Snake River is navigable for 300 miles 
above its junction with Clark's Fork, and for 200 miles in the heart of 
Idaho, 1,000 miles from the sea, as well as for shorter stretches in other 
localities. The Clearwater also affords a considerable distance of navigable 
waters. 

Clark's Fork, Coeur d'Alene, and St. Joseph Rivers are each navigable, 
and larger than the Ohio at Pittsburg. The Salmon, Clearwater, Kootenai, 
and Payette are larger and compare favorably in picturesqueness with the 
Susquehanna, the Juniata or Schuylkill, which are recognized as the noblest 
and most beautiful streams of the Alleghanies or Blue Ridge. All of these 
and hundreds of minor streams are swift, with clear currents, and are full 
of trout, salmon, and other species of fresh-water fish-. They furnish power 
illimitable in extent and easily utilized, and a never-failing supply of water 
for irrigation and domestic purposes. They are also of incalculable value 
for floating forest products from the mountains to consumers in the valleys. 
Some of the streams, of which Big and Little Lost Rivers are notable ex- 
amples, apparently sink into the sage-brush plains, but in reality doubtless 
have subterranean putlets underneath the lava into Snake or some of its 
tributaries. 

Idaho possesses many beautiful and valuable springs, aside from the 
mineral springs which are treated under the heading "Health and Pleasure 
Resorts.'* The cold springs, large and small, with water clear as crystal 
and often almost ice-cold, are the sources of many of the smaller streams, 
In the vicinity of Hailey, all about Caldwell, and in every portion of the 
State, in fact, near the foot-hills and in the mountain valleys, are these 
beautiful founts. They are of particular value to various cities and to dairy- 
men and farmers At Hailey, Bellevue, and Boise City, for example, the 
city water-works are supplied by large springs of pure, cold water, located 
in the hills so high above as to afford an ample pressure for domestic and 
fire purposes. The settler often depends on large springs for irrigation and 
for water for his stock, as well as for their cooling influence in the milk 
house and dairy. Some springs of immense volumes — flowing a river of 
water — burst from the palisades of Snake River, south of Mountain Home, 
and, falling with terrific force several hundred feet into the deep torrent 
below, are among the prominent wonders and scenic attractions of Idaho. 

TIMBER. 

The forest area is 7,000,000 acres, much of it being included in the 
mountain region already described. Throughout the central, northern, and 
eastern parts of Idaho the woodlands possess a heavier growth than in a 
majority of the timbered States east of the Rocky Mountains, while in the 
remaining sections the timber supply is equal to that of most of our prairie 
States. There are various varieties of fir, white, red, and black spruce, 
scrub oak, yellow and white pine, mountain mahogany, juniper, tamarack, 
birch, cottonwood, alder, and willow. 






IDAHO. 15 

From careful estimates received from eighteen different parts of the 
State, from data furnished by Messrs. Williams and Paul, census sta- 
tisticians, and from Dr. Brewster's "Forests of America," it is safe to give 
the approximate area of these woodlands as follows: Ten thousand square 
miles contain over 500 acres of timber to the square mile; 12,000 square 
miles, from 360 to 500 acres; 5,000 square miles, from 240 to 360 acres; 
15,000 square miles, from 120 to 240 acres; 13,500 square miles, from 10 to 
120 acres. 

The railroad travelers crossing Eastern and Southern Idaho, after trav- 
ersing the vast extent of sage-brush plains, would hardly imagine that 
within the State there are immense forests of timber, in many places so 
thick as to exclude the light of the sun. In Boise, Lemhi, Custer, and 
Alturas counties are extensive forests. The upper waters of the Boise 
River, and its tributaries, including the South Fork, are heavily timbered. 
The amount of merchantable timber in that section is estimated at from 
80,000,000 to 90,000,000 feet, exclusive of the South Fork, which is claimed 
to be more heavily timbered than either of the other tributaries. These 
forests extend thirty or forty miles into the mountains, and consist of white 
pine, fir, and cottonwood in abundance. The tributaries of the, Upper Sal- 
mon also abound with the same kind of timber. On Salmon and Craig's 
Mountains, in Idaho county, an extensive body of excellent timber is found, 
reaching from the Snake River, near the mouth of the Salmon River, to and 
across the north fork of the Clearwater, some sixty miles. It is estimated 
that this belt is from five to ten miles in width, and consists of white and 
yellow pine, red and yellow fir, and white cedar. This timber is of large 
growth, and valuable for lumbering purposes. Spruce and tamarack are 
found on the Lolo Creek, a tributary of the Clearwater. Yew trees, a foot 
in diameter, are found on the upper part of the Clearwater. White pine 
logs, five feet in diameter, and 100 feet in length, without a knot, have been 
rafted down the Clearwater, furnishing the finest quality of lumber for fin- 
ishing purposes. 

The greatest timber regions are in Shoshone and Kootenai counties, in ex- 
treme North Idaho. The Pend d'Oreille forests extend in all directions 
from the lake, covering an area over a hundred miles square. Gigantic 
monarchs of the forest lift their heads aloft at a height of over 200 feet, bull 
pine, white pine, tamarack, and fir predominating, while cedar attains 
marvelous height and thickness. From many of the trees the Spanish moss 
hangs in long graceful festoons, adding a pleasing variety to the otherwise 
sombre scene. " This superb forest of the Pen d'Oreille," observes a writer 
in the Century Magazine, " is a vast lumber preserve for future generations. 
The pineries of Michigan and Minnesota look like open parks compared 
with it. Nowhere else in the United States, save on the western slopes of 
the western mountains in Washington, can be found such a prodigious 
amount of timber to the acre." 

The Payette forests, whose product finds ready market along the Oregon 
Short Line Railway, are among the finest in Idaho. These are largely 
dra'wn upon for building, fencing, and other improvements all over South- 



IDAHO. 

ern Idano. All forest products are as cheap to the settler In Idaho as they 
are to the farmer in the Mississippi Valley. 

THE SOIL OF IDAHO. 

In such a vast area as is included within Idaho's boundary, traversed by 
mountain ranges formed of rocks of all kinds and ages, there is necessarily 
a great variety of soil. For the sake of convenience, her soils have been 
divided into four classes, as follows: — 

1. Valley soil, which cannot be excelled in any other State or Territory 
in the Union. It contains, indeed, the aggregated and condensed riehness 
of the vast areas of vegetable growth that have been accumulating for ages 
on the sides of the mountains skirting the valleys. An analysis of this soil 
shows it to be pre-eminently rich in all the mineral and vegetable elements 
necessary to the growth of all cereals, vegetables, fruits, etc., usually grown 
within the limits of the State. It is of good depth, is invariably found 
to superimpose a gravelly soil, and is so inclined that perfect drainage can 
be readily and effectively had. 

2. Plain and plateau soil, which contains all the elements for the success- 
ful growths of all the cereals, containing a great amount of vegetable mold 
Not less than three-fourths of all the arable lands of Idaho are included in 
this class. 

3. Mountain soil. This soil is exceedingly rich, especially in the wooded 
sections, where it is black, deep, and full of vegetable mold. All narrow 
valleys and parks in the mountains possess this soil. 

4. Alkali soil. This soil is of limited extent, producing greasewood and 
salt grass, which cattle eat- readily, particularly the young shoots. ^The 
cause of alkaline soils is now generally well understood. The rain which 
falls during the wet season penetrates deeply into the earth, where it grad- 
ually takes up such soluble salts as it encounters there, and as it has accu- 
mulated beneath, has gradually risen by percolation through the interstices of 
the unconsolidated materials of ti.esoil, bringing with it whatever soluble 
salts it may have taken into solution during its sojourn beneath the surface. 
" There is no difficulty, however," says Capt. C. E. Dutton, of the United 
States Geological Survey, "in removing any quantity of these readily solu- 
ble salts from the soil, providing the leaching process be continued long 
enough; and it is usually found that lands which were originally highly 
alkaline, become, when reclaimed from their alkalinity, among the most 
fertile." 

It is a well established fact that irrigation has the effect of enriching any 
of these classer of soils. During the irrigating season the streams are 
generally high and turbid, carrying in solution large quantities of vegetable 
mold, which spread very evenly by the process of irrigation, acts not unlike 
a top dressing of manure, and this is repeated annually. 

Gen'l Carter, of Boise City, late Surveyor-General of Idaho, says: "Open 
a trench of furrow through a newly-plowed field, and let that muddy water 
through it; at first it will soak through its banks, and by percolating wet 
the earth on each side for a distance of perhaps two feet; by that time there 






IDAHO. 17 

will be a lining of fine silt to the trench, and no water will go through it. 
You can not irrigate by percolation with this water, and you need fear no 
seepage from your ditches or canals. There will be a little in the beginning, 
but it will not last. We have to irrigate here by letting the water over the 
surface in a sheet, or better, little drills, such as are formed by a harrow, 
and the result is that we get a layer of fine silt over all the land, which is 
the best fertilizer we can have. Our land grows richer by cropping, instead 
of poorer." 

DIVERSITY OF IDAHO AGRICULTURE. 

There are 12,000,000 to 15,000,000 acres in the valleys and uplands of 
Idaho, lying at an elevation of less than 5,000 feet, which can be irrigated 
and made lavishly productive. We have already described the soils of 
these arable lands, and from the climatic facts also given, the reader will 
not require an elaborate argument to be satisfied that all the cereals and 
vegetables which can be raised north of the cotton-growing line in the 
Atlantic States flourish in the greatest perfection here, and that apples, 
pears, plums, peaches, grapes, nectarines, apricots, and many of the smaller 
fruits of the finest quality are almost as regularly produced as corn in the 
Missouri bottoms. Even tobacco and cotton have been grown in the lower 
valleys, experiments with the latter in 1887, especially, having been very 
satisfactory. There has been no general failure of crops in the Boise Val- 
ley in the past seventeen years. 

Irrigation. — Irrigation is the process of conducting water from its 
natural channels by means of canals and ditches, so as to overflow the lower 
lands for farming purposes. To those only familiar with the very slight 
fall of streams of the Middle States, irrigation is apt to appear impracti- 
cable, but in the valleys and on the plains of the mountainous regions of the 
West, the velocity of the streams is so great, and the fall so rapid, that it is 
perfectly feasible. 

In the southern half of Idaho irrigation is generally necessary to insure a 
ripening of crops. This the Idaho farmer considers an advantage. He is 
entirely free from solicitude in regard to drouth or flood while his grain is 
ripening, and is sure of pleasant weather during harvest time. Irrigation 
enables him to keep his pastures green in autumn, or start them early in 
the spring; it enables him to produce heavier crops and to secure a larger 
growth of fruit trees, shrubbery, etc., in one season than can be obtained 
by any unaided process of nature. The same stream that beautifies and 
fertilizes his soil, can be led by his door and be made to furnish power for 
his churn, grindstone, saw, fanning mill, etc. Better than all these, it car- 
ries to his land just such qualities of mineral and gaseous matter as is 
needed to keep it productive for years. In New Mexico, lands have been 
regularly cultivated in this way, without any other fertilizer, for 200 years. 
In the Valley of the Nile it has been the principal fertilizer on lands culti- 
vated continuously for over 3,000 years. 

Cost of Irrigation. — The expense of irrigating Idaho lands each season 
ranges from 50 cents to $1.25 per acre. To dig the ditches originally and 



18 IDAHO. 

clear the sage-brush from Idaho farms is a much less expense than improv- 
ing and cultivating lands in the East possessing a light growth of timber^ 
while the annual cost of irrigating, above ordinary farming in the Eastern 
States, is more than covered by the acknowledged greater yield and superior 
quality of the grain produced. One man can irrigate eighty acres of cereals 
or forty acres of corn or potatoes, or twenty acres of garden stuff. If done 
by the farmer himself, it does not interfere with the regular work of the 
farm, coming as it does at a time when even Eastern farmers have but little 
to do save wait upon the weather prophet and sigh for rain that does not 
come. Streams possessing an abundance of water the year round, and hav- 
ing a rapid descent, are almost everywhere available. Canal companies 
lease water from 75 cents to $1.25 per acre per year, or they will sell perpet- 
ual water rights, subject to a small annual assessment for canal repairs, at 
from $6 to $8 per acre. In many localities a community of farmers unite 
and construct their own canals. 

However, the new-comer who prefers such conditions as surrounded him 
in the East, will in Northern Idaho find vast areas of unclaimed territory, 
where the rainfall is ample to insure the growth of all crops. This also 
applies in some mountain valleys of Southern and Central Idaho as well as 
to large areas of bottom-lands along various streams. 

Wheat. — Wheat of all varieties is successfully grown at all altitudes 
and on all soils in the arable portion of Idaho. It yields an average of 
thirty bushels per acre. Both spring and fall wheat are grown, but the 
former predominates, as there is so little snow in the lower valleys to shelter 
the tender sprouts of fall-sown grain. The quality of Idaho wheat cannot be 
excelled in the world, the berry being plump, hard and bright, and, on ac- 
count of the unfailing clear weather, is rarely affected by any of the evils 
common in rainy regions. 

Barley. — The above, relating to wheat, is in a general way applicable 
to barley, but the yield averages forty bushels per acre. The quality is 
such that brewers of Chicago and Milwaukee eagerly purchase it at a rate 
which insures a good profit. 

Oats. — Oats grow anywhere and yield fifty-five to seventy-five bushels 
per acre. They are very heavy, generally weighing forty-five pounds to the 
bushel. 

Rye. — Rye of the finest quality is successfully grown in all localities. 
It is sown both in the spring and faU r and is much used for pasturage. 

Flax. — The first crop of flax was sown in North Idaho, near Lewiston, 
in 1878, and yielded from twenty to twenty-five bushels to the acre. Since 
then the cultivation of flax has become quite general in Northern Idaho. 
Near Genessee, at M. Hensen's ranch, thirty-two bushels are raised to the 
acre. It is worth from $1.25 to $1.65 per bushel. 

Corn. — Owing to the cool nights, Idaho is not generally considered a first- 
class corn producing region; but good crops of a superior quality are raised 
in all the lower districts, such as Boise Valley, Payette Valley, Weiser Valley, 
etc. Early Dent and flint are the principal varieties, although at the fair of 



IDAHO. 10 

the Caldwell Fair Association, held at Caldwell, in November, 1887, one 
exhibitor had sixteen varieties of field corn, besides several varieties of sweet 
and pop corn. Stalks fifteen feet high, with two or three well-filled ears to 
the stalk, were exhibited by others. 

Broom Corn and Sorghum are successfully produced in various locali- 
ties, and the raw material is worked up at a handsome profit. Idaho sor- 
ghum is especially rich in the best juices entering into the composition of 
syrups and sugar. 

Tobacco and Sweet Potatoes, of several varieties, flourish in the 
milder belts of Southern Idaho. 

Grasses. — The natural grasses abound, both on the mountain-side and in 
valley, hence but little attention has been paid to the cultivated varieties. 
But blue grass, orchard grass, red top, timothy, alfalfa, and clover, wher- 
ever sown, have grown prolifically, and they are hardy in growth, clover 
and alfalfa, especially, yielding three and four crops of from one to three 
tons to each, per acre, in one season. Timothy and clover have been grown 
together, producing grass knee high, and making splendid food for horses 
and cattle. 

Alfalfa is the king of Idaho grasses, its yield in many cases being almost 
incredible, and its fattening properties approaching nearer to those of grain 
than any other grass. 

Vegetables. — Potatoes yield abundantly, averaging over 200 bushels to 
the acre, equal to the finest grown in Utah, varying in price from $1 to $3 
per 100 pounds, according to the season. When they are well watered they 
are of large size, white, mealy, and delicious. Many thousand car-loads of 
potatoes were shipped from Idaho points over the Union Pacific Railway in 
1887, 1888, 1889 and 1890 to Eastern markets, where they are in great demand. 
All kinds of garden vegetables, such as beets, peas, squashes, beans, toma- 
toes, cucumbers, rhubarb, onions, etc., are successfully cultivated. The 
crop is enormous, the quality good, and a profitable market is readily found 
for all that is not needed at home. Nearly every farmer has his garden 
well stocked with all kinds of vegetables. Cabbages average twelve pounds 
to the head, and sweet corn, lettuce, melons, radishes, egg-plant, etc., are 
noticeably thrifty and superior. The market is a consideration not to be 
overlooked by intending settlers, since abundant crops would be of little 
value if no market at remunerative rates was to be had close at home, or 
within easy reach by rail. 

AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE. 

Governor Shoup, in his report for 1889, says: — 

" It is exceedingly difficult to estimate the acreage of agricultural lands 
in Idaho. There are vast areas not yet officially explored. Prospectors 
seeking only the precious minerals have taken no note of the value of the 
land for the purposes of food production, and the most intelligent observa- 
tion is yet inconclusive unless at the same time the quantity and availa- 
bility of the water-supply is taken into the account. Conservative estimates 



20 IDAHO. 

give us 13,000,000 acres of agricultural lands. Others place the amount 
at 20,000,000. I think it safe to estimate it at 15,000,000 to 16,000,000 acres. 
Our industrious pioneers have already brought under cultivation about 
4 per cent, or 600,000 acres, expending $2, 000,000 in irrigating canals 
alone. 

"The altitude of the land governs to a large extent the character of 
its productions. The valleys of Bear Lake, Lemhi, and Custer counties 
are profitably cultivated at an elevation of 6,000 feet above tide-water, 
and at 5,000 feet, oats, wheat, potatoes, turnips, etc., are raised abun- 
dantly Timothy and a few hardy grasses flourish at these altitudes. At 
4,000 to 4,500 feet all kinds of grain and vegetables are profitable, except 
a few tender garden products. In some localities fruit is grown success- 
fully at 4,000 to 4,300 feet, and berries are abundant at 4,500. The Boise 
Valley, so prolific of all kinds of fruit, is 2,800 feet above the ocean, while 
the valleys of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers, near Lewiston in the 
northwest, with an altitude of but 680 feet, revel in tropical vegetation. 
Thus the Territory of Idaho, in addition to its invaluable mineral wealth, 
possesses a share of the best climatic influences of every portion of the 
Union. 

"The soil in the valleys and on the plateaus, in the eastern and southern 
parts of the Territory, is composed of vegetable matter mixed with mineral, 
and in some localities with sand and clay. On this class of soil sage-brush 
grows extensively. 

"In the northwestern counties, dark loam of great depth prevails. In 
the gulches and near the mountains, this soil is mixed with decayed rock. 
Alkali soil is limited to narrow strips, in widely separated localities, and 
rarely interferes with agriculture. 

" The yield of all kinds of cereals, when land is irrigated, is most grati- 
fying and is not surpassed by any State or Territory. The same can be said 
of all kinds of vegetables, while in many parts of the Territory tender vines 
produce abundantly. 

"Idaho fruits can not be excelled in quality or flavor. Apples, pears, 
peaches, plums, prunes, apricots, grapes and all small fruits and berries 
are raised in great abundance. Huckleberries, gooseberries, and wild 
cherries grow wild in profusion on the mountain-sides and foot-hills. 
The camas, which gives a name to several prairies in the Territory is 
found in all sections. It is a bulb which is prized highly by the Indians 
for food." 



IDAHO. 



21 



GROWTH OF THE STATE. 

The population in 1890, of Idaho, by counties, was as follows, accord- 
ing to the United States census returns : 



Counties. 



Popu- 
lation. 



Counties. 



Popu- 
lation. 



Ada 

Alturas ... 
Bear Lake 
Bingham .. 

Boise 

Cassia 

Custer 

Elmore 

Idaho 

Kootenai.. 



8,284 
2,626 
6,061 

13,492 
3,271 
3,135 
2,169 
1,876 
2,965 

40,531 



Latah 

Lemhi ... 

Logan 

Nez Perces 

Oneida 

Owyhee 

Shoshone 

Washington 

Indians and Soldiers 
Total 



9,422 
1,916 
5,151 
2,594 
6,827 
2,071 
5,257 
3,828 
5,551 



90,549 



Governor Shoup in his report for 1890 to the Secretary of the Interior, 
says: 

" In my report for 1889 I estimated the population of the Territory to 
be 113,777. This estimate was reached through county assessors and from 
correspondence with intelligent and well-informed citizens in the several 
counties. In my last report I stated that — 

"Mining being one of the principal industries, we find men in small 
parties engaged in working placer mines in distant and secluded sections, 
several miles distant from other mining camps. Again, we find men on 
the mountain slopes, and in some instances near the summit of our most 
lofty mountains, engaged in opening and developing quartz mines, which 
carry gold, silver, and other valuable metals. A considerable number of 
men are constantly employed in prospecting for mines. Small settlements 
are found in nearly all the mountain valleys. Settlements on the plains 
and in the lower valleys cover so large an area of country, that it is diffi- 
cult to obtain a correct estimate of population among them." 

"I had hoped that through the census enumerators we would be able 
to reach all isolated camps and settlements. In this I am disappointed. I 
have information that leads to the belief that thousands of our people were 
not enumerated. Advice from authentic sources is conclusive that many of 
our mines were not visited by the enumerators. 

" Several large districts occupied by men engaged in prospecting for 
and in developing mines were overlooked or neglected. If the governors 
of States and Territories were confided in and permitted to consult freely 
with enumerators, the census taking would be much more accurate and 
satisfactory. I am confident that the population of Idaho, if cdrVectly 
enumerated, would be as large as estimated in my previous report. As an 
evidence of omissions, Boise City is reported to have a population of 2,982. 
The Boise City Board of Trade, knowing this to be erroneous, have, since 
the enumeration was made public, taken the census of the city and report 
3,922 population. It is more than probable that persons were enumerated 
by the Board of Trade who were not in the city on June 1, but there could 
not have been any such difference as shown by the above figures. I have 
similar complaints from all parts of the State." 



22 






IDAHO. 




The Legislature at its thirteenth session passed a registry law, making 
it obligatory upon all voters to register, and requiring the voter to take a 
rigid test oath, which reads as follows : 

You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you are a male citizen of the 
United States over the age of twenty-one years ; that you have actually re- 
sided in this Territory for four months last past and in this county thirty 
days ; that you are not a bigamist or polygamist ; that you are not a mem- 
ber of any order, organization, or association which teaches, advises, coun- 
sels, or encourages its members, devotees, or any other person to commit 
the crime of bigamy or polygamy, or any other crime denned by law, as a 
duty arising or resulting from membership in such order, organization, or 
association, or which practices bigamy or polygamy, or plural, or celestial 
marriage as a doctrinal rite of such organization ; that you do not, either 
publicly or privately, or in any manner whatever, teach, advise, or en- 
courage any person to commit the crime of bigamy or polygamy, or any 
other crime defined by law, either as a religious duty or otherwise ; that you 
regard the Constitution of the United States and the laws thereof, and of 
this Territorj', as interpreted by the courts, as the supreme law of the land, 
the teachings of any order, organization, or association to the contrary 
notwithstanding, and that you have not previously voted at this election ; 
so help you God. 

It is estimated that there are 25,000 Mormons in Idaho, and as polygamy 
is part of the doctrine taught by the Mormon Church, but few of their 
order took the oath. It is estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 Mormon 
voters remained away from the polls. 

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY FOR 
THE FISCAL YEAR 1890. 



Counties. 


Valuation. 


Counties, 


Valuation. 


Ada 


$3,656,999 

645,802 

913,915 

3,177,658 

684,381 

672,613 

723,670 

1,179,906 

1,000,808 

1,480,959 


Latah 


$2,771,143 


Alturas 


Lemhi 


671,000 
1,790,928 
1,079,850 
1,086,990 


Bear Lake 


Logan 


Bingham 


Nez Perces 


Boise 


Oneida 


Cassia 


Owyhee 


824,116 


Custer 


Shoshone.... 


2,096,161 
1,124,406 


Elmore 


Washington 


Idaho.... 


Total 




Kootenai 


$25,581,305 








CONDENSED CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY ASSESSED, 1890. 



Valuation. 

Real estate and improvements $11,173,511 

Railroad property 6,358,338 

Live stock 4,744,276 

Goods, wares, and merchandise 1,612,615 

Money, bank shares, and other securities 763,284 

Personal property not classified > 1,929,281 

Total ! $25,581,805 



IDAHO. 23 

Governor Shoup says : 

1 ' From the above table it will be seen that the taxable property as it 
appears on the assessment rolls for the fiscal year amounts to 125,581,305. 
The subsequent assessment rolls should add at least enough to bring the 
assessment up to $26,000,000. The greater part of the real estate property 
is assessed in the months of April and May. Since that time there has 
been a large advance in real estate. The property of Boise City has ad- 
vanced fully 60 per cent, and there is a rapid increase in new buildings. 
The same may be said of all the leading towns in the State. Improved 
farms have also advanced very much in value since the admission of Idaho 
as a State. 

Next year the assessment value of property will exceed this year by 
several millions of dollars. Lands not patented are not taxed. There are 
many farms under the highest state of cultivation and improvement on 
unsurveyed lands, on which no taxes are paid, and will not be until the 
land is surveyed and patents obtained. Our mines are not taxed. They 
represent a valuation of $50,000,000. With this large amount of unassessa- 
ble property, taken together with the fact that property is not assessed at 
over 50 per cent of its actual valuation, it will readily be seen that not 
more than one-fourth of the value of the property in Idaho appears on the 
assessment rolls," 

PUBLIC LANDS. 

The area of the State, from careful estimates, is 86,294 square miles, or 
55,228,160 acres, and may be classified as follows : 

Acres, 

Agricultural lands 16,000,000 

Forest lands 10,000,000 

Grazing and mineral lands 20,000,000 

Rough, mountainous, unfit for cultivation 8,000,000 

Lakes and rivers 1,288,000 

Total 55,228,160 

There are within the State 13,200 square miles of valley lands situated 
at an elevation of less than 3,000 feet ; 10,000 square miles between 3,000 
and 4,000 feet; 22,000 square miles between 4,000 and 5,000 feet, and 19,200 
square miles between 5,000 and 6,000 feet. It will, therefore, be observed 
that of a total of some 15,000,000 acres of arable lands in Idaho, 8,448,000 
are valley lands. The balance are uplands, or " plains." Of the total arable 
area, the Boise Land District, occupying the western portion of the State, 
and traversed by the Oregon Short Line, contains 3,500,000 acres. Of this, 
2,500,000 acres are still open to settlement. At Boise City is the Land 
Office for this district. 

Hailey Land District in the central portion of the State, also traversed 
by the Oregon Short Line Division of the Union Pacific, contains about 
1,000,000 acres of arable land, of which about 750,000 acres are still vacant 
and open to settlement. At Hailey is the Land Office for this district. 

Blackfoot Land District, occupying the eastern portion of the State, and 
traversed by the Oregon Short Line and Utah & Northern Divisions of 
the Union Pacific Railway, contains about 4,500,000 acres of land suscepti- 



24 



IDAHO. 



ble of cultivation, of which 3,500,000 are still open to settlement. At 
Blackfoot is the Land Office for this district. 

Coeur d'Alene and Lewiston Land Districts, occupying the northern part 
of the Territory, and traversed by the Oregon Short Line, contain at least 
2,500,000 acres of arable land, of which 1,500,000 acres are open to settle- 
ment. 

The Blackfoot, Nez Perces, Lemhi, and Coeur d'Alene Indian Reserva- 
tions occupy about 1,500,000 acres of the finest agricultural lands in Idaho. 
It is believed that but a few years will elapse before large portions of these 
lands will be thrown open to settlement, as the Indians are gradually 
becoming converted to the plan of accepting lands in severalty. If each 
head of a family were given 320 acres of land, there would be enough of 
these reservation lands left to make 7,000 farms of 160 acres each. 

Here is a princely area of some 10,000,000 acres of Government lands — 
more than 60,000 farms of 160 acres each, which Uncle Sam has to give 
away to his home-born or adopted sons in Idaho. 

To give the reader a better idea of the location and nature of these lands 
we will add a brief description of the leading characteristics of them. First 
as to the valleys. The valleys of Idaho are all narrow, seldom being more 
than ten miles wide, while their length frequently extends fifty miles. The 
valleys, however, are of very rich soil, and the flat bottom-lands, or the 
gently-rising plateaus that lie along the creek or river banks, are very pro- 
ductive. Following is a list of the most prominent of these valleys, with 
their arable dimensions estimated by tha most competent authorities: — 



NAME AND LOCATION OF VALLEY. 




Breadth, 
Miles. 



South Fork, Snake River, Eastern Idaho 

Salt River Valley, Eastern Idaho 

Bear River Valley, Eastern Idaho 

Snake Valley, North Fork, Eastern Idaho 

Blackfoot Valley, Eastern Idaho 

Round Valley, Eastern Idaho 

Wood River Valley, Central Idaho 

Camas Prairie, Central Idaho 

Boise Valley, Western Idaho 

Payette Valley, Western Idaho (including Long Valley) 

Weiser Valley, Western Idaho 

Lemhi Valley, Northeastern Idaho 

Pahsimari Valley, Northeastern Idaho 

Northern Camas Prairie, North Idaho 

Potlach Valley, North Idaho 

Palouse Valley, North Idaho 

St. Joseph Valley, North Idaho . 



2 to 4 

1 to 2 

3 to 5 

2 to 10 
2 to 5 
8 to 12 

1 to 10 
18 to 25 

2 to 6 
to 15 
to 5 
to 6 
to 10 

20 to 25 
10 to 15 
5 to 10 
5 to 10 



1 



The valleys mentioned above are not all that are suitable for settlement. 
We could name over a score or more in addition, where the opportunities 
are fully as advantageous as in these. Beautiful little vales and cosy parks 
hidden among the hills, are innumerable, while sheep ranches, cattle ranches, 
aairy farms, poultry ranches, and apiaries could be established in a thousand 
localities, and will be as soon as the advantages that await the settlers in 
Idaho are more fully known. 



IDAHO. 25 

The northern portion of the State, included between the Clearwater 
and the British Possessions, is chiefly mountainous, interspersed with prai- 
rie lands, and, as already noted, a number of lakes, some of them of exqui- 
site beauty. Along the shores of thesealakes and in the river bottoms are 
good arable lands. North Palouse, Genesee, Paradise, and Potlatch Val- 
leys, in Nez Perces county, are rapidly filling up with an intelligent and 
thrifty farming population. In the neighborhood of Lewiston, fruits and 
vegetables of all kinds are raised in perfection. Peach trees have been 
known to bloom there in February. Lewiston and Moscow are the chief 
distributing points for this agricultural area. 

In this North Idaho region, crops are raised without irrigation. The 
precipitation of moisture on the mountains is said to be greater than on the 
lowlands, but the hills and uplands adjacent to the great mass of mountains 
receive some of the supply condensed by the mountains themselves, and the 
lands have been found to be favored by this condition to an extent sufficient 
to warrant agricultural operations independent of irrigation. 

The more central region, between the Boise River and the Clearwater, 
consists of table-lands naturally rich in grasses, heavily timbered mountains 
and fertile valleys. The best known of these are the Clearwater, Salmon, 
Payette, Weiser, Boise, Garden and Long valleys, all presenting rare oppor- 
tunities for ranching and stock-raising; grain and cereals of all kinds are 
produced. Long Valley is seventy-five miles long and about fifteen wide. 
It is traversed longitudinally by the North Fork of the Payette. There are 
few settlements. The soil is rich, and offers excellent inducements to those 
desiring to go into the business of dairying and stock-raising. Upper and 
Lower Squaw creeks and Horseshoe Bend form one continuous valley coun- 
try, where grain can be raised in abundance, and where there are ranges 
capable of sustaining many herds of stock. These valleys are all well 
watered, possessing extraordinary fertility of soil. With the aid of irriga- 
tion these lands produce abundant crops of cereals, as well as the fruits 
and vegetables of the Middle States. There is sufficient timber to contrib- 
ute to the salubrity and humidity of the climate. 

Between Boise Valley and uhe southern boundary line there are fertik 
valleys traversing sage-brush plains and table-lands. The proportion of 
timber in this region is small, being confined chiefly to the lines of streams 
and mountain sides. Three-fourths of this vast surface is capable of recla- 
mation by irrigation, and will produce abundant crops. In the southwest 
section of this district are several fertile valleys tributary to the Owyhee. 

The area formed by the junction of the Boise, Payette, Weiser, Snake, 
and Owyhee valleys, in Southwestern Idaho, is a vast agricultural region. 
In this immense basin, formed by the confluence of Idaho's great rivers, is a 
compact body of farming lands, millions of acres in extent — the largest agri- 
cultural area between the great prairies and the plains of the Columbia. In 
soil, climate, and facilities for irrigation it is unsurpassed. It is mainly the 
rich, warm loam that produces sage-brush to perfection in its natural state, 
and all the cereals, fruits and vegetables of this latitude when cultivated. 
There are acres upon acres of apples, plums, pears, peaches, and small fruits, 
and alongside of them, almost as far as the eye can reach, are stretches of 







26 IDAHO. 



wild farming lands awaiting claimants and cultivation. Several large canals 
are being constructed to water this region, notably that projected and 
managed by Mr Howard Sebree, near Caldwell. It is already twenty-four 
miles long, twenty feet wide on the bottom, and four feet deep, and affords 
water for a large region hitherto worthless. 

South of Snake River, in Southern Central Idaho, is Goose Creek Valley, 
which extends north and south from Snake River to the Utah line. This is 
the most extentive valley in Cassia county, and one of the finest in the Ter- 
ritory. There are now over 3,000 acres under cultivation, and with the 
water that is in Goose Creek it is thought that 10,000 acres can be cultivated 
The valley is about five miles in width at its southern extremity, and widens 
quite rapidly towards the north, until it opens into Snake River Valley. Ex- 
tending from Snake River up Goose Creek is a body of over 200,000 acres of 
the finest land, that only requires water to make it one of the best agricult- 
ural districts in the State. 

Referring to this Cassia county region, a well-informed settler writes as 
follows: "It is bounded by latitude 42° on the south, and by Snake River 
on the north. Covering about 5,000 square miles of territory, more than 
one-half of its area is valley land. Its southern portion is crossed by 
mountain ranges, among which are the Sublette, Black Pine, Goose Creek, 
Rock, and Salmon Creek mountains, Mount Harrison and Mount Inde- 
pendence in the Goose Creek Range, rising to an elevation of about 10,000 
feet. The most important valleys are those of Raft River, Goose Creek 
and Salmon Creek, although many smaller basins of surpassing beauty and 
fertility are found. The county is drained by Snake River and its tribu- 
taries Salmon Creek, Rock Creek, Dry Creek, Cottonwood, Goose Creek, 
Marsh Creek, Raft River, and many smaller streams. Lying in the central 
part of the Upper Mountain District, in an immense depression, traversed 
in every portion by the balmy Chinook winds, these valley lands possess a 
mild climate, healthful and pleasant as any on the footstool. Cyclones, 
blizzards and extreme changes of temperature are unknown. The soil, 
deep and fertile as the Valley of the Nile, will, with irrigation, produce all 
fruits, grains, and vegetables known to the temperate zone in great pro- 
fusion and of surpassing excellence. Washed on the northern edge 
by a great river, a moderate expenditure of capital in the construction of 
canals and diversion of water would turn these valleys into a veritable Eden. 
From such canals water could be furnished to work the vast placer deposits 
along Snake River, and almost unlimited water-power be developed for 
manufacturing purposes. Recognizing all this, and realizing the benefits oi 
such work to its full extent, the citizens of Cassia county have had a pre- 
liminary survey made for a proposed grand canal from Snake River. Said 
survey has demonstrated the fact that at an expenditure of much less than 
$5 per acre, more than 1,000,000 acres of this land can be reclaimed, and to 
this attractive, immensely remunerative, and entirely safe investment, the 
attention of capital is invited. In this county are also found large quarries 
of marble and building stone, promising gold, silver, lead and coal pros? 
pects. Thorough investigation and better transportation facilities will 
probably develop immense mines of the precious and base metals. With a 



IDAHO. 27 

sparse population at present of 4,000, this county can be made to sustain at 
least 200,000 inhabitants; diversified by scenery sublime, picturesque and 
beautiful, 'aland fair and inviting in the eyes of all men,' it must in a 
decade hence become the home of teeming thousands, the seat of great 
marts of industry and commerce, this superb and incomparable county of 
Cassia." 

On the 19th day of July, 1888, Senator George Hearst said in the Senate 
of the United States: " Snake River Valley alone was estimated to be able 
to support 2,000,000 of people. * * * I have been over all the Territories 
west of the Rocky Mountains as much, perhaps, as any other man, and I 
think Idaho has more agricultural land in it than all the other Territories 
there." 

Surrounding Mountain Home in Southern Central Idaho, is a tract of 
about 100,000 acres — nearly all Government land — of the very cream of Idaho 
uplands. It is unsurpassed for fertility and requires less irrigation than the 
average of such lands. A company is now constructing a canal to water a 
portion of this splendid tract. Good mining markets are convenient, and 
the Oregon Short Line crosses this land. 

In the Wood River region are Wood River Valley and Camas Prairie, the 
former an ideal mountain valley, two to ten miles wide and fifty miles long, 
and the latter seventy miles long and twenty miles wide. This Camas 
Prairie is not to be confounded with the prairie of the same name in Idaho 
county. It is about twenty miles west of Hailey. Through its southern 
portion runs Camas Creek, a tributary of Wood River. The whole prairie is 
magnificently watered, and, in season, covered with a luxuriant growth of 
grass, making it a paradise for stock. The soil is a rich black loam. Irriga- 
tion is said to be unnecessary on a large portion of the lands, for the reason 
that there is a heavy clay sub-soil which holds the water and moisture. The 
resources of Camas Prairie have been thus described: " The numerous creeks 
which are flowing through the valley keep the clay soil wet, so that how- 
ever dry the top soil may look, you will always find plenty of moisture 
within a few inches of the surface. In demonstration of this fact we have 
only to say that water in endless quantities can be found almost anywhere 
on the prairie, at a depth of from two to eight feet below the surface. 
Many settlers have wells with sufficient water for all stock at that depth. 
This condition of soil renders the land of this prairie very productive. Im- 
mense crops of oats, wheat, barley, and all small grain, and all kinds of 
vegetables and fruits can be grown easily and to great profit. The natural 
grasses yield wonderful crops of hay, and tame grasses, wherever tried, 
flourish amazingly. Timothy, alfalfa, and clover have been sown, and have 
proved to be big croppers and very hardy in growth. We know of fields of 
timothy which were sown on sod that yielded two or three tons per acre. 
Tame grasses and all small grains find their natural elements here, and con- 
sequently yield enormously. At Armstrong's Willow Creek ranch, in 1886. 
five acres of volunteer wheat yielded 522 bushels, or at the rate of over one 
hundred and four bushels per acre. This is, of course, an extreme case — in 
fact, it stands unequaled, even on Camas Prairie, that garden spot of 
Idaho — but several instances could be cited where the yield of volunteer 







23 IDAHO 



wheat has reached seventy-five bushels per acre. The soil is so well adapted 
to the raising of potatoes and vegetables that a yield of less than one ton of 
potatoes per acre is a great dissappointment, while of rutabagas, carrots, 
etc., less than two tons is not considered an average crop. And this, it 
must be borne in mind, is in fresh plowed ground, that five years ago had 
never felt the tramp of civilized men. Squire Abbott, one of the residents 
of Camas Prairie, sowed one pound of wheat which he received from the 
East, and, on harvesting and cleaning up, realized one hundred pounds of 
nice, clean wheat. Barley sown on sod last year produced from fifty to 
sixty-five bushels to the acre, without any irrigation. All kinds of garden 
vegetables, such as beets, turnips, peas, beans, onions, cabbages, etc., are 
successfully and very profitably cultivated, the crop is monstrous the 
quality par excellence, and the market for all that is not needed for home 
consumption is sure, and at paying prices. In fact the soil of Camas Prai- 
rie cannot be excelled in any State or Territory in the Union." Wood River 
Valley requires irrigation, and many miles of canal are annually being con- 
structed to reclaim its broad areas of rich lands. 

In northwestern Idaho, agriculture ably supplements the mining industry 
in enriching the country. The Salmon River, rising in Sawtooth Mount * 
ains, north of Wood River, enters on its southwestern border, and pursuing 
a zigzag course in a general northeasterly direction, receives the waters of 
ten large creeks besides the East Fork. These streams, together with Lost 
River and its tributaries, flow through thousands of acres of arable land 
still uncultivated. In Round Valley, containing thirty square miles of 
arable and grazing land, but a small portion has been cultivated; in Lost 
River Valley, containing in Custer county, about 100 square miles of arable 
land, 4,000 acres of hay and grain were cultivated in 1887; in Pahsimari, con- 
taining about fifty square miles of arable land, comparatively none is under 
cultivation. A few families have settled in Pahsimari — a valley forty 
miles in length by ten miles in average width — but beyond a few tons of hay, 
grain, etc., for home use, nothing has been produced. This valley alone 
will furnish homes and occupation for hundreds of people. Lost River, 
from its source to the point where it sinks into the lava beds, runs for sixty- 
five miles through a fine valley, rich in natural resources. Since the mining 
excitement of recent years, 800 people have flocked thither — of whom, 
perhaps, one-half are engaged in agriculture. With homes to build, land 
to inclose and bring under the* beneficent effects of irrigation, the new- 
comers still found time the first season to cut about 5,000 tons of wild hay, 
and raised 10,000 bushels of grain. The grain crop this year will quadruple 
this amount. Farming in Round Valley has been liberally rewarded. The 
acreage under cultivation has steadily increased for five years, until this 
year its contribution to the county's wealth is 30,000 bushels of grain, and 800 
tons of hay, besides thousands of pounds of vegetables. Men who' came 
here penniless a few years ago, now own ranches with houses, equipments, 
and live stock and are worth from $3,000 to $15,000. 



IDAHO. 29 

PRICES PAID FOR CROPS. 

Oats is the principal grain raised in northeastern Idaho, being of a very 
hardy, solid character, and for that reason taking the place of barley. 
Wheat could be raised as profitably as oats, if there were only flour mills in 
the country to grind it. There is no lack of a market, as 400,000 pounds of 
flour are annually imported to meet the consumption, at prices ranging from 
$4.50 to $6 per hundred, according to locality and season. Hay yields about 
one and a half tons to the acre, in its wild state. Alfalfa, blue-grass, red- 
top, and timothy have been successfully sown. The profits accruing to 
farmers will give no surprise, when it is understood that oats bring $1.25 
per bushel; hay, $20 per ton; potatoes, 2 cents per pound; cabbage, 4 cents; 
onions, 8 cents, and turnips, 1 cent per pound. Other farm produce is sold 
as follows: Eggs at 50 cents per dozen; butter at 40 to 50 cents per pound, 
and chickens at 50 cents apiece. Not only is a ready market found at these 
prices, but annually thousands of dollars' worth of hay, grain, butter, eggs, 
and poultry are imported from other countries, or Utah, to meet home 
demand. Hereafter, the tendency of prices will be slightly downward, still 
the margin left for profits will be extraordinarily large. 

Lemhi Valley, the largest, best settled, and most extensively cultivated 
valley in northeastern Idaho, is seventy miles in length, and varies in width 
from three to six miles, comprising within its limits, bottom and bench lands 
of unsurpassed fertility, adapted by reason"of its low altitude and sheltered 
situation to the successful cultivation of all cereals, vegetables, and fruits. 
The principal crops raised in Lemhi Valley are wheat, oats, barley, and 
potatoes. The wheat crop of Lemhi Valley has never yet proved a failure, 
yielding from forty to fifty bushels of fine, hard, No. 1 wheat, weighing 
fifty-eight to sixty-two and one-half pounds to the bushel. A steadily in- 
creasing home-demand has created a good market at $1.20 per bushel. This 
has been the ruling price for a number of years. Oats have been for years a 
never-failing crop, yielding from forty-five to fifty-five bushels to the acre, of 
heavy, full kernels, weighing forty-five pounds to the bushel, and command- 
ing ready sale at from X% to 2 cents per pound, with the demand always in 
excess of the supply. Barley has been but little cultivated, although as 
safe and certain a crop as wheat or oats, yielding from thirty-five to forty- 
five bushels to the acre, and selling at 2 cents per pound. Lemhi valley has 
been justly famous for the superior quality of potatoes grown there, finding 
a ready market and sale everywhere in the mining camps. The yield of 
potatoes in this valley has averaged over 250 bushels to the acre, and the 
market price varies from $1.50 to $4.50 per hundred pounds, according to 
season. The writer has seen some of these tubers weighing four pounds and 
eight ounces, and was assured by the producer that he had bushels of the 
same kind in the field, all sound and solid potatoes. During the seventeen 
years in which Lemhi Valley has been farmed, no failure of this crop has 
ever been reported. 

Then in Eastern Idaho are Bear Valley, Snake Valley, Malad Valley, 
and others, altogether affording room for thousands of settlers, who will 
find the condition much the same as in the other valleys described. The 



30 IDAHO. 

Snake Valley, near Eagle Rock, and Blackfoot, the largest irrigating canals 
in the State, are being constructed, reclaiming lands for many new set- 
tlers. This is the famous potato region from which about 1,000 car-loads of 
potatoes are marketed annually. 

It should also be remembered that the mountain slopes of Idaho are 
watered by abundant streams, and checkered with alternate tracts of for- 
est and rich prairie. Even in the least favored regions are localities 
adapted to specific branches of agricultural enterprise. These will ulti- 
mately be occupied by a thrifty farming population who are not afraid of 
severe winters— for it is here that the snow-fall is greatest, and the grow- 
ing season short. 

HOW TO OBTAIN GOVERNMENT LAND. 

Pre-emption. — Heads of families, widows, or single persons (male or 
female) over the age of twenty-one years, citizens of the United States or 
who have declared their intention to become such, may enter and purchase 
not exceeding 160 acres under the pre-emption laws. A fee of $3 is required 
within thirty days after making settlement, and within one year, actual 
residences and cultivation of the tract must be shown, whereupon the pre- 
emptor is entitled to purchase the same at $1.25 per acre. A pre-emptor 
may submit proofs of residence at any time after six months and obtain title 
to his land. 

Homesteads. — Any person qualified as above is entitled to enter a 
quarter section (160 acres), or less quantity of public land, under the home- 
stead laws. The applicant must pay the legal fee and that part of the com- 
missions required, as follows: Fee for 160 acres, $10; commission, $6; fee 
for 80 acres, $5; commission, $4. Within six months the homesteader must 
take up his residence upon the land and reside thereupon, and cultivate the 
same for five years continuously. Final proof cannot be made until the 
expiration of five years from date of entry, and must be made within seven 
years. A settler may prove his residence at any time after six months and 
purchase the land under the pre-emption laws, if desired. 

Tree Claims.— Under the timber culture laws, not more than 160 
acres on any one section, entirely devoid of timber can be entered. The 
qualifications of applicants are the same as under the pre-emption and 
homestead laws. Land-office charges are $14 for 160 acres or more than 
80 acres, when entry is made, and $4 at final proof. Land to be entered 
must be entirely devoid of timber. Party making entry of 160 acres is 
required to break or plow ^we acres during the first year and five acres 
during the second year. The five acres broken or plowed the first year 
must be cultivated the second year, and be planted in timber during the 
third year. The five acres broken or plowed the second year, must be 
cultivated the third year and planted in timber the fourth year. At the 
end of eight years, or within two years after that period, proof by two 
creditable witnesses must be adduced, showing that there were at the end 
of eight years, at least 675 living, thrifty trees on each of the ten acres 



IDAHO. 31 

*? 

required to be planted; also not less than 2,700 trees were planted to each 
of the ten acres. 4 Fruit trees are not considered timber within the mean- 
ing of this act; 

Desert Land Act. — Any person possessing the aforesaid qualifications 
may file his oath with the Register and Receiver of the land office in the 
district in whicjrany land is located that he intends to reclaim, not to 
exceed 320 acres of said land, in a compact form, by conducting water upon 
it within three years of the date of the said oath, and by paying to the 
Receiver the sum of 25 cents per acre for all the land claimed, may enter 
said lands under the Desert Land Act. At any time within three years a 
patent can be obtained by making proof that he has reclaimed said land, 
and paying the additional sum of $1 per acre. This act applies to desert 
lands in Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. 

All these acts are liable to be materially changed — some of them repealed 
— during 1891. Much more stringent conditions will be placed upon the 
disposal of all public lands. It therefore behooves the homeseeker to make 
his choice of government land quickly. 

RAILWAYS. 

Idaho is now thoroughly accessible from either the east or west, via the 
Union Pacific System. The great through Portland route of the Union 
Pacific conveys the passengers from the Missouri River to the most remote 
station in Idaho in three days, while from Portland eastward to the heart 
of the State consumes only twenty-four hours. Salt Lake City is reached 
in twenty-four hours, and San Francisco in about sixty-five hours. 

Oregon Short Line Railway Company. — The Oregon Short Line is the 
most important railroad in the State, carrying, as it does, all the through 
tratfic passing over the Union Pacific Railway System from the North 
Pacific coast for all points on the Atlantic seaboard, and to all intermediate 
points. The volume of tonnage and local business is increasing each year. 
This road enters the State on the Wyoming line near the town of Mont- 
pelier, passing through the counties of Bear Lake, Bingham, Logan, El- 
more, Ada, and Washington, to the town of Huntington, on the border of 
the State of Oregon, a distance of 465.63 miles. 

The first place of importance on the line of this road is Montpelier, in 
Bear Lake county. This town has a population of over 1,000 inhabitants. 
The people of the town and surrounding country are industrious. It is the 
center of a large agricultural district. A large number of cattle, horses and 
sheep, together with a heavy tonnage of grain, are shipped annually from 
this town. 

Soda Springs is the next place of importance, and furnishes for Eastern 
markets horses, cattle and sheep. Hay and grain are also shipped in con- 
siderable quantity. The famous soda or mineral springs at this place are 
receiving merited and wide-spread notice. About 1,000,000 bottles of this 
Buperior mineral water have been marketed during the past year. 







McCammon, at the junction of the Utah and Northern Railway, sup- 
plies a large amount of tonnage of both stock and grain. 

Pocatello is on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. The Indians have 
here ceded their right to about 1,800 acres of land for a town site, which 
has been surveyed and platted under the supervision of the general govern- 
ment. The population of Pocatello is about 1,500, and is in the heart of a 
fine agricultural district. The great body of the land is, however, covered 
by the Indian Reservation. The shipment of grain is, therefore, small. 
Stock of all kinds is shipped in considerable quantities. 

The Utah and Northern Railway diverges from the Oregon Short Line 
at this station, running northward to the Montana line. From McCammon 
to Pocatello these roads run on the same road bed. 

American Falls, on the western border of the Indian Reservation, fur- 
nishes horses, cattle and sheep in large numbers for transportation to 
market. 

Located at the junction of the Wood River branch with the Oregon 
Short Line is the beautiful and prosperous town of Shoshone. Railway 
shipments in this town in grain, wool, hay, and stock of all kinds are 
steadily increasing. It is surrounded on all sides by excellent agricultural 
lands. The celebrated and wonderful Shoshone Falls on the Snake River 
are about twenty miles distant from this town. A line of coaches runs 
between the two places. 

Glenn's Ferry and Mountain Home are prominent for both shipping 
and distributing points, and are growing towns of importance. 

Nampa is about twenty miles from Boise City, the capital of the State, 
and is the junction of the Idaho Central Railway with the main line. 
Nampa has doubled its population, business and buildings during the past 
year. It is in the center of one of the finest agricultural districts on the 
line of the road and distributes to a large area of country. A stage line 
runs from this place to Silver City, De Lamar, and other points south. 

Caldwell is one of the most prosperous towns on the line of this road. 
Many new buildings have been constructed during the year, and business 
in all branches is reported to have increased 50 per cent over last year. 
Outgoing and incoming shipments show a large increase over the past year. 
A large and very prosperous agricultural area is tributary to this place. 
Large quantities of grain, hay, wool, and stock of all kinds are shipped. 

Payette is a prosperous town and surrounded, like Caldwell, by a rich 
agricultural country. The volume of its business has increased very much 
during the year. Some of the most prosperous settlements in the State are 
tributary to this town. Shipments of all kinds of farm products, wool, and 
stock show a most gratifying gain. 

Weiser, the last town of importance on this road, was, during the early 
part of the summer, nearly destroyed by fire. It is rapidly rebuilding, and 
a better class of buildings is taking the place of those destroyed. It ip 
similary surrounded as the towns last named. The merchants of this place 
are energetic and report a large increase of business over last year. In 



IDAHO. 



33 



addition to the fine agricultural lands tributary to Weiser, extensive and 

rich mines have been discovered and are being vigorously worked. It will, 

before long, be one of the most prosperous towns on the line of this 

road. 
I 

OREGON SHORT LINE RAILWAY.— DIVISION OF THE UNION PACIFIC SYSTEM. 



Counties. 



Miles. 



Valuation 
per mile. 



Aggregate 
valuation. 



Bear Lake... 

Oneida 

Bingham 

Logan 

Elmore 

Ada 

Washington 

Total 



45.48 
21.44 
58.31 
117.67 
64.67 
75.58 
28.10 



411.25 



$6,500 
6,500 
6,500 
6,500 
6,500 
6,500 
6,500 



295,620 
139,360 
379,015 
764,855 
420,355 
491,270 
182,650 



$2,673,125 



Utah and Northern. — This railway enters Idaho from near the town 
of Franklin, in this State, passing northerly through the counties of Oneida 
and Bingham to the Montana line. In 1889 76.87 miles were narrow gaug° 
and 129.62 standard gauge. Since that date the narrow gauge has been 
changed to standard gauge. In several places on the line of the road a 
new road-bed has been graded, which has shortened the line by several 
miles. 

There is no material change to report on the through business of this 
road. There is a marked improvement, however, to note in local traffic. 
The town of Franklin, near the Utah line, has increased her shipments of 
cereals and stock very materially. The shipments to and from Pocatello 
have also increased. 

The town of Blackfoot, in the great Snake Eiver Valley, has made 
marked progress during the year. The export of grain, hay, wool, and 
stock of all kinds will exceed that of former seasons. A much larger area 
than ever before of the fine agricultural land surrounding it has been 
reclaimed during the year. The harvests have been abundant and the 
people prosperous. It is the distributing point for a large district and is 
the principal shipping point for Custer county. 

Eagle Eock is located at the point where this road crosses Snake Eiver, 
and has the advantage of being the shipping point of the largest agricul- 
tural district in the eastern part of the State. It is believed that more 
agricultural land has been reclaimed tributary to this station during the 
past year than in any other district in the State. Shipments of flour, grain, 
wool and stock exceed former years. 

Camas is surrounded by an excellent grazing country and is the supply 
depot for several mining camps. 

Beaver Canon, at the foot of the Continental Divide, is noted for the 
large amount of lumber sawed and shipped to stations along the line of 
the road. Many of the National Park tourists leave the railroad at this 
point. 



34 



IDAHO. 

UTAH A NORTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY. 



Counties. 


Miles. 


Valuation 
per mile. 


Aggregate 
valuation. 


Narrow Gauge: 

Bingham 


55.42 
21.45 


$5,000 
5,000 


$277,100 


Oneida 


107,250 - 








76.87 
129.62 




$384,350 


Standard Gauge, Bingham 


$6,500 


842,530 






Total valuation 






$1,226,880 











Wood River Branch op the Oregon Short Line Railway. — This road 
is a branch of the Oregon Short Line, leaving the main line at the town of 
Shoshone, in Logan county, and terminating at Ketchum, in Alturas 
county. Total length of road is 69.96 miles. 

Bellevue, on the line of this road, is an important supply and shipping 
point for a large number of valuable mining properties. The shipment 
of ores and concentrates for the present year is larger than for 1889. 
Stimulated by the advance of silver and lead, the owners of many low- 
grade mines will make larger shipments during the next year than ever 
before. Bellevue is at the base of a low range of mountains, and has a 
good ranch and grain trade. The town is prosperous, showing a marked 
improvement over last year. 

Hailey is the county seat of Alturas county. One year ago it was in 
ashes, but substantial brick blocks have sprung up over the ruins. It is a 
distributing point for a large mining district. Surrounded on all sides 
by vast mineral belts, this town will continue to grow, business will 
increase, and the road will be satisfied with the traffic to and from this 
point. 

Ketchum, the terminal point of the road, is the supply station for an 
extensive region. Supplies are distributed for an extensive mining district, 
and it is one of the principal shipping points for Challis, Clayton, Custer, 
Bonanza, and other important places in Custer county. There are large 
reduction works and smelters near the town. 

WOOD RIVER RAILWAY. 



COUNTIBS. 


Miles. 


Valuation 
per mile. 


Aggregate 
valuation. 


Logan 


54.38 
15.58 


$6,500 
6,500 


$353,470 


Alturas 


101,270 






Total 


69.96 




$454,740 









IDAHO. 



35 



Idaho Central Railway. — This is a branch of the Oregon Short Line 
system, leaving the main line at Nampa and terminating at Boise City, the 
capital of the State. The tonnage and travel over this road have more than 
doubled during the past year. This result is brought about by the large 
number of new buildings erected at the capital during the year, also the 
large increase of business reported by merchants. 

IDAHO CENTRAL RAILWAY. 



County. 


Miles. 


Valuation 
per mile. 


Aggregate 
valuation. 


Ada > 


18.94 


$3,000 


$56,820 







Spokane Falls and Idaho Railway Company.— This railway connects 
with the Northern Pacific Railway near the Idaho line, running thence to 
Cceur d' Alene City, on the border of Lake Cceur d' Alene, where it connects 
with the line of steamboats plying between Cceur d' Alene City and old 
Mission on Cceur d' Alene River. Until the present season this road, with 
the steamboat line and the Cceur d' Alene Railway & Navigation Company, 
had the exclusive carrying trade of the Cceur d' Alene mines. Since the 
completion of the Washington & Idaho road into the Cceur d' Alene 
mines the business seems to be nearly equally divided. 

SPOKANE FALLS AND IDAHO RAILWAY COMPANY. 



County. 


Miles. 


Valuation 
per mile. 


Aggregate 
valuation. 


Kootenai 


13.50 


$3,000 


$40,500 





Cceur d'Alene Railway & Navigation Company. — This road commences 
at the old Cceur d' Alene Mission near the head of navigation on the Cceur 
d' Alene River, running through the towns of Kingston, Wardner Junction, 
Osborne, and Wallace to Murray, with a short branch to Burke. It 
parallels the Washington & Idaho Railway, and is a competitor for patron- 
age in the same field and towns in the great Cceur d' Alene country. It is 
narrow gauge, and connects with a line of steam-boats plying between 
Cceur d' Alene Mission and Cceur d y Alene City. 



CCEUR D ALENE RAILWAY AND NAVIGATION COMPANY. 



Counties. 

• 


Miles. 


Valuation 
per mile. 


Aggregate 
valuation. 


Kootenai 


2.10 
36.43 


$5,000 
5,000 


$ 10,500 


Shoshone 


182,150 






Totals 


38.53 




$192,650 









36 



IDAHO. 



Spokane & Palouse Railway. — This road enters the State in Nez Perces 
county in township 37, range 6, terminating at the town of Genesee, in 
Latah county. It penetrates the finest wheat belt in the State, if not in 
the world, and is a supply road for the Northern Pacific system. 



SPOKANE AND PALOUSE RAILWAY. 



Counties. 


Miles. 


Valuation 
per mile. 


Aggregate 
valuation. 


Nez Perces 


5.66 
1.47 


$6,500 
6,500 


$36,790 
9,555 


Latah 




Total 


7.13 




$46,345 







Oregon Railway & Navigation Company. — This road is a supply 
branch or feeder of the Union Pacific system, entering the State about 2% 
miles west of Moscow, the thrifty county seat of Latah county. There are 
but 2% miles of this road in the State. Its business, however, is marvelous. 
Moscow is in the heart of the great wheat belt of this favored region. 
Wheat, oats, barley, flaxseed, stock, brick and lumber are the principal 
articles of commerce. Moscow will have another railroad before the close 
of the present season. 



OREGON RAILWAY AND NAVIGATION COMPANY. 



- ■*■ 

County. 


Miles. 


Valuation 
per mile. 


Aggregate 
valuation. 


Latah 


2.50 


$9,080 


$22,700 





Washington & Idaho Eailway Company. — This line starts from 
Farmington, State of Washington, and runs easterly through the Cceur 
d'Alene Indian Reservation, up the valley of the main Cceur d'Alene 
river, and thence up to the South Fork of the same river to the town of 
Mullan, in Shoshone county, passing through the prosperous towns of 
Wardner Junction, Osborne and Wallace. Each of the towns named are 
large shippers of "silver-lead ores." The mining camps surrounding 
these towns are the most productive in the State. Considerable grading 
has been done on this road between Mullan and the Montana line. 



WASHINGTON AND IDAHO RAILWAY COMPANY. 



Counties. 


Miles. • 

• 


Valuation 
per mile. 


Aggregate 
valuation. 


Kootenai 


55.32 
29.65 


$6,500 
6,500 


$359,580 


Shoshone 


192,725 






Total 


84.97 




$552,305 







IDAHO. 
TOTAL MILEAGE OF RAILWAYS IN THE STATE. 



37 



Counties . 


Name op Railway. 


Miles in 
county. 


Value 
per mile. 


Aggregate 
assessed 
valuation. 


Bear Lake .. 


Oregon Short Line 


*45.48 

*58.31 

♦172.05 

*15.58 

*64.67 

*21.44 

*75.58 

*28.10 

121.45 

t55.42 

*129.62 

18.94 

*5.66 

*1.47 

2.56 

*55.32 

*29.65 

12.10 

f36.43 

88.00 

13.50 


$6,500 
6,500 
6,500 
6,500 
6,500 
6,500 
6,500 
6,500 
5,000 
5,000 
6,500 
3,000 
6,500 
6,500 


$295,620 
379,015 
1,118,325 
101,270 
420,355 
139,360 
491,270 
182,650 
107,250 
277,100 
842,530 

56,820 

36,790 
9,555 

22,700 
359,580 
192,725 

10,500 


Bingham 


4 4 4 4 


Logan. .. 


4 4 4 4 


Alturas 


4 4 4 4 


Elmore 


4 4 4 4 


Oneida 


4 4 4 4 


Ada 


4 ( 4 4 


Washington 

Oneida 


4 4 4 4 


Utah and Norther^ 


Bingham 




4 t 


4 4 4 4 


Ada 


Idaho Central 


Nez Perces 


Spokane and Palouse 


Latah 




« t 


Oregon Railway and Navigation Co.. 
Washington and Idaho 


Kootenai ... 


6,500 
6,500 
5,000 
5,000 


Shoshone 


4 4 4 4 


Kootenai 


Cobut d' Alene Railway and Nav. Co.. 

4 4 4 4 ( ( 

Northern Pacific 


Shoshone 


182,150 


Kootenai 






Spokane Falls and Idaho 


3,000 


40,500 








Tetal 


941.27 




$5,266,065 











♦Standard Gauge. 



tNarrow Gauge. 



TELEGRAPH LINES IN THE STATE. 



Counties. 



Ada 

Owyhee 

Alturas 

Bear Lake 

Kootenai 

Logan 

Latah 

Ada 

Bear Lake .... 

Bingham 

Elmore 

Logan 

Oneida 

Washington.. 

Bingham 

Oneida 

Kootenai 

Bingham , 

Elmore 



Total. 



Name op Telegraph Company. 



Wires . 



Silver City Telegraph Co 

Western Union Telegraph Co.. 



Rocky Bar and Mount Home 
Telegraph Co , 



Miles 

in 
county. 



20.00 
27.00 
15.38 
22.04 
78.00 
54.38 
3.00 
95.47 
23.30 
57.72 
64.67 

117.67 
21.97 
28.08 

162.24 
21.45 
58.00 
22.80 

54.00 

947.17 



Value 
per mile. 



30 
30 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
70 
70 
70 
70 
70 
70 
70 
110 
110 
130 
150 

25 



Aggregate 
valuation. 



$ 600 00 

810 00 
769 00 
1,102 00 
3,900 00 
2,719 00 
150 00 
6,682 90 
1,631 00 
4,040 40 
4,526 90 
8,236 90 
1,537 90 
1,965 60 
17,846 40 
2,359 50 
7,540 00 
3,420 00 

1,350 00 

$71,187 50 



38 IDAHO. 

COMMERCE. 

PRODUCTS EXPORTED BY RAILROADS FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1890. 

Tons. 

The Union Pacific system (central and eastern Idaho) *47,96l 

Oregon Railway and Navigation Company , fl4,740 

Spokane and Palouse Railway Company 116,170 

Spokane Falls and Idaho Railway Company |8>000 

Cceur d'Alene Railway and Navigation Company *51,216 

Northern Pacific Railway Company fl2,000 

Washington and Idaho Railway Company f28,000 

Steamboats t24»000 

Total 202,087 

PRODUCTS IMPORTED FOR YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1890. 

♦Tons. 

The Union Pacific system (central and eastern Idaho) *67,106 

Oregon Railway and Navigation Company fl4,650 

Spokane and Palouse Railway Company fl8,500 

Spokane Falls and Idaho Railway Company f7,000 

Cceur d'Alene Railway and Navigation Company *28,109 

Northern Pacific Railway Company f7,500 

Washington and Idaho Railway Company |27,000 

Steamboats 114,000 

Total 183,864 

VALUE OF HOME PRODUCTS MARKETED FOR THE YEAR 1890. 

Cattle, horses and sheep $ 2,402,300 

Wool, pelts and hides 885,000 

Grain, hay and seeds..-. 3,852,700 

Fruits and vegetables 324,000 

Lumber 1,945,600 

Brick and other building material 985,550 

Total $10,395,150 

*Official . tEstimated . 

MINING. 

Hon. George L. Shoup, Governor of Idaho, in his exhaustive report for 
1889, to the Secretary of the interior, said : 

" Mining is the principal industry of the Territory and goes hand in 
hand with our growing agricultural industry. To the mines is due the first 
stimulus that was given to immigration. And now that mining has 
become as legitimate an occupation as farming, stock-raising, or any other 
occupation, there is less of that reckless speculation than there was a few 
years past. The past year has been one of hardship to many who are 
engaged in working placer or -surface mines, caused by the unprecedented 
light fall of snow in the mountains last winter, thereby producing little 
water for this class of mining, and in some localities the supply was so 
light that the mines have not been touched this season. With an average 
water supply through the season the output of gold and silver would have 
been increased at least $2,000,000 more than the amount reported. 

" A number of quartz-mills have been shut down for some months from 
the same cause. Notwithstanding the short supply of water, and the fall- 
ing off of production in some localities, the yield of valuable metals in the 
Territory at large is most satisfactory, and is nearly double that of last 
year. The large increase - comes from Shoshone county, where we have 
now developed some of the finest mines known to exist. Some of the 
mines have been developed for some time, but the owners were content to 
wait the completion of a railroad near them. The high per cent they carry 



IDAHO. 39 

• 
in lead contributes to make the tonnage very large. From the present out- 
look, the production next year of gold, silver, lead, and copper will be 
increased over this by several million dollars. I am sincere in stating that 
I believe Idaho will, in a few years, lead the list of States producing gold, 
silver, and lead. Large copper mines have been opened in the Seven Devils 
district, in Washington county ; also on Big and Little Lost Rivers and Birch 
Creek, in Alturas, Bingham and Custer counties. These mines, while high 
grade, are too far from railroads to be worked with profit at present. Com- 
panies are looking over the field with a view of constructing lines to them." 

In his report for 1890, Governor Shoup has this to say concerning the 
mining interests of Idaho : 

" Since the discovery of gold in Idaho by Capt. James Pearce and party 
on Oro Fino Creek, in 1860, the mines of Idaho have produced to date 
about $175,000,000. The mountains of Elmore, Boise and Ada have each 
hundreds of gold and silver mines. The two former counties have several 
mills in operation and will have several more next season. Boise 
county has also large placer fields. 

i l Owyhee county is one of the oldest quartz mining districts in Idaho, 
but high freights and the expense of operating mines and mills has been 
so great that many of the mines were abandoned, or for many years only 
the assessment work done on them. Recently new life has been infused 
into this district and systematic work resumed, developing some of the 
finest properties in the State. The Wilson group, owned and operated by 
Capt. De Lamar, has developed several very large veins, the largest of 
which is 75 feet between walls, and every pound is worked through the 
mill. There is a 20-stamp mill on this property which has produced over 
$800,000 in the past year, and nearly all of this large amount from devel- 
opment work alone. There are several million dollars worth of ore in 
sight'. Several other mines near Silver City are paying well and have 
developed extensive bodies of ore. 

" Gold, silver and lead mining is yet in infancy in Idaho. In my opin- 
ion, before many years, this will be the most extensive, most productive 
and best paying mining region in the world. There is yet in the State, in 
addition to the class of mines above referred to, thousands of acres of pla- 
cer mines, prospected, but otherwise scarcely touched. These extensive 
fields are so high above or so distant from water, that they are beyond the 
reach of the individual miner, but in time capital will be employed to 
cover them with water. The sands of Snake River contain millions of dol- 
lars of fine scales of flour gold. As yet miners have been unable to save 
this gold by the present methods or machinery used in placer mining, or 
at most only a small percentage of it. This problem, without doubt, will 
ere long be solved. 

" In the Seven Devils mining district, located in Washington county, 
are some of the largest and most extensive veins of copper ore known to 
exist. At present these mines are too far distant from railway transporta- 
tion to be worked with much profit. About $50,000 worth of this ore was 
shipped this year. I have seen pieces of ore from one of these mines, the 
South Peacock; with free gold exposed to sight.' ' 



40 



IDAHO; 



TOTAL PRODUCTION OF GOLD, SILVER, LEAD, AND COPtEfi 
IN IDAHO FOR 1889 AND 1890. 

Prepared from the reports of producers and other authentic sources. 



Counties. 


Value of 
gold. 


Value of 
silver. 


Value of 
lead, at 4 
cents per 

pound. 


Value of 
copper, at 
10 cents per 

pound. 


Total 
value. 


Ada 


$ 5,500 
155,000 

55,000 
365,000 

35,000 
460,000 
375,000 
475,000 

30,000 
425,000 

57,000 
155,000 
600,000 

12,000 


$ 500 
620,000 




. 


$ 6,000 

1,050,000 

55,000 

618,000 

35,000 

2,745,600 

397,000 

510,000 

145,000 

1,099,000 


Alturas 


$ 275,000 




Bingham 

Boise 




253,000 






Cassia 






Custer 

Elmore 


2,100,000 

22,000 

35,000 

60,000 

274,000 

320,000 

345,000 

3,510,000 

25,000 


160,000 


$25,600 


Idaho 






Kootenai 


55,000 

400,000 

80,000 




Lemhi 




Logan 

Owyhee 




457,000 

500,000 

9,639,000 

97,000 




Shoshone 


5,520,000 




Washington 


60,000 






Total 


$3,204,500 
$ 3,595,333 


$7,564,500 
$3,594,167 


$6,490,000 
$4,510,000 


$85,600 
$125,000 


$17,344,600 


The returns by counties for 
1890 are not available, but 
the total output was as 
follows 


$13,824,500 







PRODUCTIONS OF THE VALUABLE METALS IN IDAHO ANNU- 
ALLY TO DATE. 



1862 $ 5,000,000 00 

1863 7,448,400 91 

1864 9,019,704 30 

1865 12,914,364 25 

1866 10,001,850 44 

1867 7,388,064 31 

1868 3,030,213 56 

1869 1,613,453 68 

1870 2,239,190 61 

1871 2,219,937 94 

1872 2,675,192 00 

1873 3,653,605 15 

1874 3,100,447 69 

1875 1,983,720 27 

1876 2,267,013 36 

1877 3,474,787 69 



1878 $ 2,657 

1879 2,553 

1880 1,634 

1881 4,915 

1882 5,500 

1883 5,000 

1884 6,500 

1885 5,755 

1886 9,6*9 

1887 9,245 

1888 8,905 

1889 17,344 

1890 13,824 

1891 13,075 

1892 7,058 

Total production $191,678 



,216 91 
634 58 
,637 19 
,100 00 
000 00 
,000 00 
,000 00 
602 00 
,500 00 
,589 00 
136 00 
,600 00 
,500 00 
000 00 
000 00 



,462 84 



LABOR. 



Governor Shoup says: — 

"There are but few new features to report on this subject, the supply- 
keeping nearly even pace with the demand. Laborers of all classes find 
ready employment in the mines, logging and wood camps, teaming, farm- 
ing and other industries. 

"The average miner is paid $3 to $3.50 per day ; the more skilful miners 
are paid $4 to $5 per day ; mill and smelting hands are paid $3 to $4 per 
day; loggers, wood-choppers and saw-mill hands are paid $2 to $3.50 per 
day ; mechanics and skilled labor, $4 to $6 per day ; teamsters, $40 to $60 per 
month and board ; laborers, $30 to $50 per month and board ; farm hands, 
$30 to $45 per month and board ; teachers, $40 to $100 per month ; clerks and 



IDAHO. 41 

book-keepers, $50 to $150 per month. There continues to be a scarcity of 
female servants, who would get ready employment at $20 to $30 per month. 

" The mining population is nearly evenly divided between Americans and 
men of foreign birth. The majority of foreigners are natives of Wales, Ireland, 
England, France, Norway, Sweden, and Germany. The majority of farm 
hands are of American birth, all of the States being represented, with a 
large percentage from the Middle and Western States. In some sections 
there is a considerable number of Germans, Swedes, and Norwegians, with 
a very few from other foreign nations, employed. Idaho has as intelligent 
a class of laborers as are found in any part of the United States. There 
has been no collision between capital and labor reported during the past 
year. The Chinese are rapidly leaving the Territory, being seldom 
employed, except as cooks and laundrymen. The majority of those remain- 
ing in the Territory, work low-grade placer mines purchased from white 
men. 

4 'Our farmers are intelligent and prosperous, the majority being Ameri- 
cans. Their homes are surrounded with greater comforts tHan usually 
found in new countries. They are industrious, happy, and contented. 
What is said of the farmer, may be said of all other classes of citizens of the 
Territory. Intelligence, good morals, and good society are notable as the 
principal features of the people of Idaho. 

4 'IRRIGATION. 

"The application of water to the arid lands of the Territory has dem- 
onstrated beyond question the great productiveness of the soil. Millions of 
acres of land in Idaho, plains and plateaus, once classified as a great desert, 
have been proven to be as fine agricultural land, when irrigated, as found 
in any part of the United States. 

" The great problem has been and is now: How can water be conveyed to 
lands lying high above, and in many localities far distant from streams from 
whence the water must be brought to irrigate ? Another grave question is: 
How can the water that goes to waste for more than one-half the year be 
garnered to be used during the season of irrigation ? These are questions 
that should be considered, not for the present requirement only, but look- 
to the welfare of the generations to follow. 

"The vitality of agriculture and peace and prosperity of those engaged 
in cultivating the soil are deeply concerned in the solution of this great 
question, which has to-day a greater significance to the settlement of our 
lands and populating the Territories than any other. 

" Prompt and decisive action should be taken looking to the control and 
application of water under some well formulated system. Each year's delay 
renders any general system more difficult for the reason that hundreds of 
additional water-rights have been filed. To reconcile all those claiming 
priority of right is a question also to be considered in the adoption of a 
general system. 



42 IDAHO. 

" I do not feel justified in giving my views as to the best method of hand- 
ling this important question pending the report of the Senate Committee on 
Irrigation. Inasmuch as the act of Congress, at its last session, in making a 
liberal appropriation for the survey of the arid regions, with a view to the 
supply of water for irrigation, was so expressed as to give prominence to re- 
servoirs and but slight reference to surveys for canals and ditches, it was 
feared the Geological Bureau might so construe the act as omitting canal 
surveys altogether. To counteract such a construction, if found necessary, 
and to get the work of surveying begun in Idaho as early as possible, were 
subjects of especial concern, and received immediate attention through a 
timely report made in February last to the Department, by the surveyor- 
general, presenting some of the features of portions of Idaho which are 
similar to those of any other State or Territory. Thus was official attention 
directed to Idaho, and an early commencement of irrigation surveys here 
satisfactorily obtained. 

" The action of the Senate in appointing an able and efficient committee 
of its members to visit, personally inspect, and report on the whole subject 
of the reclamation of our arid region will give us strength in the halls of 
Congress and educate the whole country to the fact that our arid region 
has arable land enough for a kingdom, and our dry, basaltic soil is the 
best in the world. Water is about all the fertilizer it will ever need." 



THE STATE BY COUNTIES. 

ADA COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 95,600 acres $ 841,267 

Improvements on above 811,255 

Improvements on unpatented land, 41,200 acres 388,580 

Oregon Short Line Railway Company 491,270 

Idaho Central Railway Company 56,820 

Western Union Telegraph Company 6,682 

Silver City Telephone Company 600 

Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Company 3,500 

Irrigating canals 30,125 

Money on hand 42,365 

Bank-stock shares 122,500 

12,140 stock cattle at $12 145,680 

1,375 American cows at $20 27,500 

Farming utensils 7,3u0 

Fixtures 5,*&0 

Furniture 23,135 

Goods, wares and merchandise 233,421 

Harness, robes and saddles 8,800 

1,235 hogs at $3 8,705 

7,365 American horses at $25 184,125 

Lumber 8,500 

Machinery 17,675 

175 mules at $40 7,000 

Musical instruments 7,300 

34,400 graded sheep at $2 68,800 

Solvent credits 82,370 

Wagons and vehicles 24,674 

Watches 5,100 

Wood 6,500 

Total valuation $3,656,999 

The county of Ada occupies a central portion of the western part of 

the State. It is 75 miles in length from north to south, with an 
average width of 35 miles. The older settlements occupy the valleys, and 

these valleys are thronged with prosperous people. The homes are sur- 



IDAHO. 43 

rounded with orchards and groves, and are sustained by fruitage from 
fields producing far in excess of the prairie lands of Illinois. Settlement 
has but fairly begun upon the uplands, and their adaptability to horticult- 
ure is yet under experiment; but the yield of grass and grain is equal to that 
of the valleys. More than 600,000 acres of excellent land are open to set- 
tlement in this county, all of which is still owned by the Government, and 
subject to entry under the public land laws. Not an acre can be bought 
without first bringing the land under cultivation. Perhaps 10 per cent of 
the land of Ada county is hilly or mountainous. All of the remainder will 
yet be irrigated by great canals and nourish by their products tens of 
thousands of people. 

The system of irrigating canals already provided is the wonder of all who 
visit this prosperous county. Small farming communities own canals sup- 
plying from ten to one hundred ranches. Sometimes but two or three join 
in taking out water. The uplands are supplied by canals which cost from 
$10,000 to $80,000. The capital city is provided for by two canals, which 
send little rivulets through every street and upon every lot in quantities 
desired bythe people. Uncultivated lots and blocks, covered with native 
sage-brush and bearing all the physical aspects of the desert plains, alter- 
nate with lots and blocks upon which water has been applied, where flourish 
trees and grass, orchards, gardens, and flowers. 

The beauty of Boise City, with its wealth of fruit and stately trees, has 
often been told. Time only adds to its attractiveness. Its annual growth 
averages 10 per cent in the number and value of its buildings. Idaho was 
the first of the Territories to provide itself with a permanent capitol build- 
ing at its own expense, and the people are well satisfied with their invest- 
ment. The building and furnishing cost about $85,000. 

West of the capitol is the immense public school building, and on the 
east is the court-house, both the best public buildings of their kind yet 
erected in the State. Occupying another block is the United States 
assay offices, a solid stone building, erected several years ago at the expense 
of the United States Government. There is still needed a suitable building 
for the postoffice, with rooms required for the enlarging business of the 
United States land offices. The United States marshal has quarters at the 
court-house. A suitable Government building could be erected on one of 
our main business thoroughfares, adapted to the needs of the postal service 
and the land department, for about $40,000, and an appropriation for this 
purpose should be made at an early day. Other towns in Ada county should 
not pass unnoticed. The town of Caldwell justly claims an honorable men- 
tion on account of its extended wholesale and retail trade, its excellent pub- 
lic and private buildings, and the energy with which its thoughtful people 
push its interests in every direction. Payette is a beautiful village, draw- 
ing its support from both agricultural and lumber interests, while Emmett 
is the busiest of lumber towns. 

The statistics of live-stock and agricultural products elsewhere given are 
the best evidence of the strength and varied nature of the resources of Ada 
county. In the yield of fruit and vegetables Ada county ranks first in the 
State; in hay it ranks second ; in grain it stands third. Perhaps the time 



• 




44 IDAHO. 

is not far distant when Ada will rank first in all these particulars, since 
the real development of the county has but fairly commenced. 

The year 1890 was one of remarkable prosperity for Ada county. More 
than 10,000 acres were added to its area of cultivated lands ; the amount of 
capital invested in agriculture increased 26 per cent ; to the extent of its 
irrigating canals there was added 30 per cent. Turning from agriculture to 
trade, we find the increase in ordinary traffic has been 25 per cent; the 
increase in new buildings over the growth of last year has been 50 per 
cent ; and the increase in railway traffic has been 100 per cent. From three 
railway stations the export of wool has been 793,907 pounds. The number 
of sheep kept in Ada county was increased 15 per cent during the past year. 

Looking forward the outlook is brighter still. Two million dollars will, 
during the coming year, be invested in irrigating canals, enabling farming 
operations to increase 20 per cent. Building is likely to be limited simply 
to the supply of material. Government lands are entered as fast as irri- 
gating canals are surveyed by responsible companies, settlers valuing the 
lands so highly that they are willing to wait any reasonable time for the 
actual construction of canals. One year ago lands on the plains, contiguous 
to water supply, with very limited improvements, for which Government 
title had been secured, were quoted generally at $10 per acre. Now these 
lands rarely sell below $20 per acre. These prices are justified by the 
prices which their products bring. The following were the lowest whole- 
sale quotations of Ada county products on October 3, 1890. 

Wheatflour per 100 pounds $ 2 25 

Corn meal " 2 25 

Wheat " 1 16% 

Oats " 1 50 

Corn '« 1 50 

Barley ** 1 35 

Rye " l 40 

Timothy, loose per ton 9 00 

Timothy, baled " 12 00 

Lucerne, loose " 8 00 

Lucerne, baled " 11 00 

Clover, loose ■• 8 00 

Clover, baled " 11 00 

Potatoes, Irish per 100 pounds 1 50 

Dairy butter per pound 35 

Ranch «• : " 30 

Eggs per dozen 35 

It will be very readily seen that the price of hay, the product of which 
usually reaches four tons to the acre, justified a high value for Ada county 
lands, in addition to paying the usual irrigation charge for water. 

Add to these attractions the fact that the mild and equable climate of 
Ada county has no superior; that the market for its products is practically 
unlimited, and that the experiments of the past two years have demon- 
strated that the soil of the plains is all that can be desired for tree and 
fruit culture, and one is able to realize what groves, orchards, and gardens 
will crown this soil, which only three years ago was simply desert and 
desolation. 

More than a quarter million acres in Ada county will yet be redeemed 
from the desert. The discovery of water in the foot-hills of the Bois6 
Mountain range opens new prospects in this direction. If the mountains 
are veined with bidden streams as now seems probable, the develop- 



IDAHO. 45 

ment of Ada county will soon produce wealth equal to that heretofore 
enjoyed by the entire State of Idaho. The gold mines of the Boise range 
are attracting more and more attention, and the best practical miners pre- 
dict the early discovery of richer gold deposits than are yet known in the 
mountain country. 

The towns of Ada county may be separately mentioned as follows : 

Boise City now contains a population of 2,311, and is increasing at 
the rate of 20 per cent per year. A quarter of a million dollars has 
been spent in improvements during the last six months. The daily 
average of the business transactions of its two banks is now $62,000, or a 
yearly business of $19,344,000. Real estate has advanced more than 100 
per cent. Sales of real estate last year were scarcely $5,000 per month ; for 
the six months ending October 1, 1890, the sales amounted to more than 
$400,000, or $70,000 per month. 

The entire city has this year been covered with a spendid water supply 
system. Eleven miles of water-pipe have been laid, bringing water from 
artesian wells at the foot of the mountains. The fall is 170 feet, and the 
pressure enables the fire department to cover the tallest buildings without 
the use of engines. A sewerage system will be provided in 1891 adequate 
to the needs of the city. 

The daily business of the railway office in 1889 was $500 ; it has increased 
in 1890 to $1,100, or $33,000 per month. The lumber and brick business has 
quadrupled. For six weeks the city was without a lumber supply, so 
completely were the stocks of the entire county exhausted. There is within 
forty miles of Boise City the finest body of timber remaining in Idaho ; but 
it can only be made available and profitably handled by the construction of 
a railway through Boise* Canon, and it is hoped that such a railway will be 
built in the near future, thus insuring this city against a further lumber 
famine. 

Thus the Capital city has kept pace with the wonderful growth of the 
State of Idaho in every direction. It is growing in mineral resources, in 
agricultural and horticultural area, in general wealth, in the comforts of 
life, in population, in trade, and in all else that goes to make a beautiful, 
healthful, and prosperous city. 

Caldwell and Its Surroundings. — Caldwell is on the Oregon Short 
Line Railway, 30 miles west of Boise" City, and 447 southeast of Portland, 
Oregon. Seven years ago the place where Caldwell now stands was an 
alkali desert, but on the advent of the railroad in 1883 the town was estab- 
lished. Its growth has been rapid. So situated as to be the commercial 
center of a large stock-growing and agricultural region, it has pushed 
ahead by the demands of the country until to-day one of the prettiest 
towns in Idaho marks the spot where but a short time since the sage-brush 
reigned supreme. As to the location of Caldwell much can be said situ- 
ated as it is at the foot of the Upper Boise Valley, and at the head of the 
Lower Valley. It commands a vast amount of trade from both these fer- 
tile districts, which stretch away for miles in either direction. North of 
the city about a mile is the canon, through which the BoisS River flows on 
its way to join the mighty Snake River, to the west and north. At this 



46 



IDAHO. 



point the river is crossed by a substantial bridge, at the west end of which 
the Sebree irrigation canal diverges to the right and flows off across the 
valley. On reaching the summit of the range of hills just beyond this 
bridge, one is struck by the vast panorama of fields, farms, and fertile val- 
eys stretching as far as the eye can see. Acres upon acres of land tribu- 
tary to this growing city are as yet uncultivated, and only need the appli- 
cation of water and the muscle of the farmer to turn it into a source of vast 
revenue both to the tiller and the community at large. The amounlo 
business transacted at this station is very large, drawing trade as it does 
or a radius of over 100 miles in every direction. The volume of business 
transacted seems impossible when you think of its sparsely-settled coun! 
S; f 7 fl S ures ™" * h ™ the business done at the depot, which is an 

wet ^^IT T ln f S ° f thecommu °ity- For the year 1888 there 

were 15 178 242 pounds of merchandise received and forwarded. This 
does not include hve-stock shipments, of which there were 425 cars for- 
warded. The cash receipts at the station were $73,106.34. This is a good 
record for a town of 500 people (which was the population at that time) 
of paying over $ 200 per day the year round for freight. In 1889 f 84,458 86 
was paid the railroad company at this station. 

Two years ago the population was 432, but to-day it is 779 The town 
has three substantial church buildings, a fine brick school house 
and several elegant brick business blocks. The residences are not on 
the shack order, but are neat substantial houses, many of them 
ZL 5%?i° . em r _ architecture - The increase of business keeps 

atieadof the town, with mercantile establishments which carry 1100 000 
stocks The business of the town is rapidly running into wholesale instead 
ot retail The leading merchants report an increase of 50 per cent in all 
lines of business during the past eleven months. 

The following buildings have been erected since January 1, 1890- Six 
business houses and 18 residences, at an actual cost of $49,750 

The people are enterprising, liberal, and cultured. Caldwell is indeed 
further advanced than the average town. Its railroads are making it an 
objective point, and it promises to become a railroad as well as an agricul- 
tural city. ° 

Payette and V IC iNiTY.-During the past year Payette and the surround-^ 
ing country tributary to the town has made a very noticeable growth. In 
the town many fine brick buildings have been erected, both for school, 
business and residence uses; and in the country large barns and good, 
attractive looking and substantial dwelling houses have been built. Hun- 
dreds of miles of fencing have been put up, and thousands of acres of the 
ncn bottom lands, covered by irrigating canals, have been put in cultiva- 
tion There were raised this year from the lands just about Payette, within 
a radius of say six miles, 7,000 tons of timothy, clover and alfalfa hay ; at 
east 40,000 bushels of wheat, and many thousand bushels of oats and bar- 
ley. Every one who has land in cultivation grows more or less vegetables. 
Ihe quality of all kinds of grain and vegetables is strictly first-class, and 
the quantity of vegetables produced from an acre of irrigated land is very 
large. Thousands of heads of cattle, horses and sheep will be fed from the 



IDAHO. 47 

hay raised, and many train loads will also be shipped away to other mar- 
kets. The country about Payette has made greater development in the way 
of fruit culture than almost any other part of Idaho. There are here two of 
the largest nurseries in the Northwest ; and principally from these sources 
have been drawn supplies by the people living in this valley for large 
orchards and vineyards, and to-day thousands of acres of land are covered 
with young and thrifty-growing fruit farms, that in the near future will 
make their owners independent, and will fix a valuation on these lands 
similar to fruit lands in the fruit-growing districts of California and Ore- 
gon. All classes and kinds of prunes, and nearly every kind of apples, 
pears and grapes have proven a success. The fruit season is very early 
about Payette; already large shipments have been made to Idaho and 
Montana points. This industry bids fair to be the leading one with this 
section in the future. There is in construction in the Payette Valley large 
irrigating canals that will open for settlement much more land of equally 
good character as that now under cultivation. The amount of business 
done for the year 1890 will nearly double that of 1889. 

The town of Nampa forms the junction of the Oregon Short Line and 
Idaho Central Railways. It has more than doubled its population and 
wealth during the past year, having risen from about 225 in 1889, to 500 
people in 1890. A fine hotel has been built this year, a commodious school 
house, and many business buildings and residences. 

Emmett is an active lumber and agricultural village, on the Payette 
River. The farmers of that section are quite prosperous ; their farms are 
in a high state of cultivation, and new ranches are being opened by intel- 
ligent settlers. 

ALTURAS COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 14,196 acres $ 27,214 

Improvements on above 37,870 

Improvements on unpatented land, 1,690 acres 12,680 

Improvements on mining' claims 17,250 

4 quartz mills 26,500 

9 concentrators 16,750 

2 samplers 4,300 

2 smelters 4,800 

City and town lots 85,252 

Improvements on lots 135,315 

Mining ditches 4,027 

Money on hand 6,650 

1,685 cattle at $12.64 12,310 

Farming utensils 1,310 

Fixtures 3,885 

Furniture < 4,980 

Goods, wares and merchandise 56,375 

Harness, robes and saddles 1,730 

80 hogs at $3.15 252 

971 American horses at $30.95 30,053 

Jewelry and silverware 210 

Lumber 2,100 

96 mules at $35 3,360 

Musical instruments 1,195 

8 oxen at $25 200 

Sewing-machines 225 

Wagons and vehicles 8,866 

1,795 cords wood at $2 3,590 

Bank stock 10,000 

Other personal property 16,283 

Oregon Short Line Railway Company 101,270 

Total valuation $645,802 







48 IDAHO. 

This county has won wide and lasting fame as a rich mining 
district. Temporary causes have operated to check its development 
in this direction, but the fact is well established that the hills and 
gulches of Alturas county abound in rich mineral veins and ledges; 
they have made fortunes for many men already, and there 
are more to develop, sufficient to enrich a regiment of people, 
and profitably employ thousands more. Prospectors have never 
abandoned the field, and the results this year are exceedingly encour- 
aging. 

The county contains three quartz mills, three smelters, and eight 
concentrators, having a united capacity of 390 tons daily. The ores 
are classed as lead silver ores, carrying a high percentage of lead, and 
high grade in silver. 

Referring to the record kept by a leading assayer of Hailey, the 
average value of Alturas ores, in lead and silver, basing the value on 
present quotations, is $160 per ton. Shipments for this year will aggre- 
gate 6,000 tons, the ores of this county finding a ready market in Den- 
ver, Omaha and Kansas City. 

About 1,000,000 feet of lumber, and 100,000 shingles have been cut 
in five mills, and the timber supply is still abundant. This county 
owns a good court house worth $40,000, and a school house which cost 
$30,000. 

The agricultural development of the county continues, the area of 
patented lands having increased 60 per cent during the past year. The 
elevation is such that the farming season is limited; yet the product- 
iveness of the farms is a surprise. 

The county is well watered, and the irrigation system is annually 
extended. Rates of wages are remunerative, and the settlers are pros- 
perous. The county commissioners have expended considerable money 
in roads and bridges, enabling the merchants to command the trade of 
districts beyond their natural boundaries. Few people have ever met 
reverses with greater courage, or struggled with larger zeal to overcome 
obstacles. /* 

Hailey and Ketchum are the principal towns, and both are adorned 
with public and private buildings in every way creditable to their 
people. 

During the year 1888 several of the most important mines of this 
county ceased to be productive, and many proclaimed that this district 
had seen its best days. 

During the last winter and spring a considerable number left for 
new fields ; but those who understood best the mineral resources of this 



IDAHO. 



49 



county remained steadfast in the faith that they were beginning rather 
than ending the production of the precious metals here. 

It is now stated that there are fifty mines paying a liberal profit 
to their owners. While there have been periods in the history of 
this county when the total output was greater than now, so great a 
number of profitable mines has never been reached before, and the 
prospect for a greatly increased yield the coming year is cheering in 
the highest degree. 

The town of Ketchum remains the great distributing point for the 
vast mining region to the northwest, and one of the principal shipping 
points for all of Custer county and the districts north and northeast. 
Many causes have contributed to temporarily retard the growth of the 
place, yet its citizens have just completed, at heavy expense, a system 
of water- works unexcelled in the entire State. 

The returns given in the table of agricultural products show that 
Alturas county will not rest its fame upon mines alone, but that its 
yield of grain and vegetables is highly creditable. The county ranks 
high in the business of stock-raising, and excels in the proportion 
of the better grades. 



BEAR LAKE COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Oregon Short Line Railroad Company $295,620 

Western Union Telegraph Company '. 2,733 

Deseret Telegraph Company 300 

Improved land patented, 27,330 acres 100,250 

Improvements on above 100,127 

Land unpatented, 18,000 acres 75,000 

Improvements on above 62,050 

Money on hand 2,150 

8,197 stock cattle 89,830 

Farming utensils 7,175 

Fire-arms 300 

Store Fixtures 3,500 

Goods, wares and merchandise 59,97ft 

Harness, robes and saddles 3,246 

482hogs 1,447 

200 American horses 12,000 

2,752 Spanish horses 69,135 

Lumber 2,000 

Machinery 4,215 

Musical Instruments 2,800 

Pianos 2,000 

Sewing machines 1,500 

886 sheep at $2 1,772 

Wagons and vehicles (588) 13,305 

100 watches at $15 1,500 

Total valuation $913,915 



50 IDAHO. 

This county has been settled for about twenty years, the pioneers 
being colonists of the Mormon Church. The result is seen in a popu- 
lation denser than in any other county of Idaho, and a larger propor- 
tion of the soil under cultivation. 

A considerable proportion of the county is mountainous, and covered 
with a heavy growth of pine timber. Saw-mills have been diligently 
cutting away in these forests for a half a generation, but the supply is 
abundant still. The elevation of the county is so great that no fruit is 
grown, but, on the other hand, water is so abundant that the grain 
and grass crop is marvelous. 

Under a system early adopted the residents of the villages each have 
a small acreage near by. The necessities of life are therefore at the 
easy command of all, each family being able to employ its own mem- 
. and abject poverty rendered impossible. Close neighborhoods, a 
comfortable social life, and a heavy population within a small system, 
while few enjoy great wealth. 

Bear Lake, from which the county takes its name, is a large body 
of water, well stocked with fish, and is a natural reservoir for an 
immense section. Should a system of storage reservoirs be adopted by 
the Federal Government, Bear Lake county will be the seat of the 
lnings of this great project, and a large expenditure of public 
money among its people would result. 

The Oregon Short Line traverses this county, and at Montpelier a 
o number of railway employes have their homes. Both Paris and 
Montpelier are handsome and prosperous towns, and reasonably well 
provided with educational facilities. Paris is the county seat, and it 
a good courthouse and a large Mormon tabernacle. Popula- 
tion 8 . 

In the present condition of the State laws this population of over 
- x thousand persons contains but about two hundred and fifty legal 
The bulk of the people are Mormons, who are disfranchised 
- a church, but as an association praticing or teaching polygamy. 

The main railroad business of this county is transacted at Mont- 

>n 1,174. The town constitutes a railway freight division, 

and many railway emplo; e building permanent homes in this 

itiful village. Tin a thrifty and intelligent class of citizens. 

e that the railway company will greatly enlarge its shops and 

int; a newspaper has been recently established and 

- of the place improved. 



BINGHAM COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Utah and Northern Railway Company $1,119,630 

Oregon Short Line Railway Company 379,015 

Improved lands patented, 117,148 acres., 325,434 

Improvements on above 107,252 

Improvements on unpatented land 101,343 

Western Union Telegraph Company 25,306 

Town lets 43,615 

Improvements on same. .7. 213,110 

Money on hand 10,000 

19,706 stock cattle at $11.62... .*. 229,118 

2,400 American cows at $15 36,000 

Farming Utensils 16,304 

Store fixtures 5,000 

Furniture 5,300 

Goods, wares and merchandise 204,625 

591 hogs 2,616 

Six thoroughbred horses at $300 1,800 

27 Graded horses at $100 2,700 

8,369 American horses 223,482 

Jacks and jennies 150 

Machinery. 35,550 

100 mules at $40 4,000 

15 pianos 3,0d> 

100 sewing machines 1,500 

7,332 sheep 10,355 

1,457 wagons and vehicles 34,872 

Bank stock 14,400 

Other personal property 22,181 

Total valuation : $3,177,658 

V 

This county is larger than either the States of Vermont, Delaware or 
Rhode Island. It contains 7,600,000 acres, including 1,300,000 acres in 
Fort Hall Indian Reservation. 



It has the largest population of any county in Idaho, and with one 
exception, the largest assessed valuation. There is no other county in the 
State of Idaho better watered than Bingham, or has within its boundaries 
so much good agricultural land. 

The county is 165 miles long from north to south, and 88 miles wide from 
east to west. The assessed valuation in 1889 was $2,863,707; its assessed 
valuation in 1891 was $5,915,523. 

Its range cattle in 1889 numbered 29,091 head ; in 1891 the number of 
cattle had increased to 39,561 head. The number of horses in Bingham 
county in 1889 was 8,180 head. This number had increased in 1891 to 
17,219 head. In 1889 there were 3,777 head of sheep ; in 1891, 7,051 head. 









. j_/ j\. n \j , 



In 1889 there were only 780 hogs in the county ; in 1891 there were 4,794 
head. 

The county embraces within its limits a variety of soil, climate, scenery, 
employments and products equal to any other in the State. 

It is traversed by the great Snake Eiver valley, and is an empire in 
extent and possibilities. Bingham county within itself is a State in its 
resources and capacities. 

In a rapid description, we will naturally look upon the county in tripli- 
cate—its southeast, or great mining and grazing belt ; its center, or chief 
agricultural section; its vast north, with its great forests, its unrivaled 
natural scenery, and its multitudinous farms. The population of this 
county may be roughly guessed or estimated ; the actual number which, 
within the last three years, have flocked into its valley and spread over its 
plains will not be known until the patient census-taker seeks them 
out. 

Southeast Bingham has for its central business point the town of Soda 
Springs. This is a city of hotels; the cool resort of health seekers; 
the center of the most valuable, the most curious, the rarest group of 
springs known to geographical lore. It is almost the center of a 
Ipdy of grazing and agricultural lands, which is winning the attention 
of thousands of home-seekers, and where the settlers are solidly pros- 
perous. To the north is the Carriboo placer mining district. In its 
wild fastnesses many shrewd miners are exploring, and if half is true 
which is told by prospectors there is untold wealth awaiting capitalists 
of courage and knowledge, who will use both in this wonderful 
region 

Swinging westward and northward, the towns of Pocatello and 
Blackfoot are reached. Two years ago there were at Pocatello possibly 
200 persons; one year ago there were 500; at this date estimates vary 
from 1,500 to 2,500. Here are located the most extensive car-shops 
between Omaha and the Pacific coast, and around the town are grazing 
lands, rapid streams, and hills tempting to the hunter and prospector. 
Where so recently but a handful of railroad employes held possession, 
there is now a national bank, an excellent newspaper, mammoth gen- 
eral stores, good hotels, churches, schools, and all the smaller trades 
and shops usually accompanying the march of civilization. 

Just north of Pocatello, and beyond the Indian reservation, is 
Blackfoot, the county seat. Here is a well-built and well-furnished 
court house; here is the Idaho Insane Asylum; the United States land 
offices; a private bank; several business houses and comfortable dwell- 
ings; a good school house, and two brick churches; and from the rail- 
road depot there load and depart great wagon trains of freight for the 
mining districts of Central Idaho. 



IDAHO. 53 

Within a radius of twenty miles of Blackfoot hundreds of farmers 
are cultivating valuable ranches, supplied by water from costly canals, 
where five years ago the coyote was the only live stock and sage-brush 
the only vegetation. 

Twenty-five miles north of Blackfoot, is located the old town of Eagle 
Rock, now Idaho Falls, Idaho. It is at that particular point where the 
Union Pacific Railroad crosses the mighty Snake River. There is-a water- 
power in the rapids of the river, at this point, estimated by the United 
States Government Engineers to be 126,000 hdrse-power, or almost three 
times greater than at Spokane Falls, Washington. 

Two years ago, Idaho Falls, then known as Eagle Rock, was a little vil- 
lage of 200 people; to-day, it has a population of 1,500 souls. Its growth 
has been remarkable, and many who are competent to judge, predict that 
in a very few years Idaho Falls will be the recognized commercial city of 
the State, in point of population. 

The Z. C. M. I. general store is located at this place, and does a busi- 
ness of about $900 per day the year around. Anderson Brothers, who run 
a large general store and bank, do a business of about $600 a day the year 
around. Several large agricultural implement houses are doing a business 
varying from $15,000 to $25,000 a month. 

They have a large patent roller flouring mill, built of stone. It was 
operated by steam until June of 1892, when the water-pow T er in the rapids 
of the river was harnessed, since w T hich time the water-power has taken the 
place of steam. The cost of running this mill, which has a capacity of 80 
barrels a day, was estimated at $510 per month when it was operated by 
steam-power. Since June of 1892, the estimated cost of running the mill, 
has been only $90 per month. Hence, it can be readily seen what a vast 
saving that water-power is to manufacturers. 

The great Snake River valley, surrounding Idaho Falls, consists of 
about two and a half million acres of land. These lands when irrigated 
have proven themselves to be as rich as any on the face of the 
globe. 

Over t two millions of dollars have been spent in the last three years 
constructing irrigating canals and ditches, bringing the water out of the 
river and carrying it along the foot-hills of the mountains, Some of these 
canals are forty feet in width, and carry a volume of water from four to six 
feet in depth. 

As the land gradually rises from the river back toward the foot-hills, it 
can be easily understood how the water naturally runs from the canals 
over the lands toward the river, thus affording irrigation through numer- 



54 IDAHO. 

ous laterals and smaller ditches that are taken out of the main canals, 
until the ultimate ramification of these many small ditches reaches and 
covers practically every acre of land. 

On the west side of the river, is an immense body of land greater in 
extent than on the east side ; but, as yet, there are only two canals— the 
Porter and the Great Western. The Great Western Canal is taken out of 
the Snake Eiver, some eleven miles above the new town of Idaho Falls, 
at Bear Island, and gradually diverges from the river as it flows southward 
until it swings several miles away to the westward. 

The agricultural land in the Snake River valley, tributary to Idaho 
Falls, is about forty-five miles in width, and one hundred and fifty miles in 
length. 

Until recently, some strange fatality seemed to prevent a close inspec- 
tion of this great valley. By referring to the earlier maps, we see the name 
"Bad Lands," "Lava Beds," "Basalt Plains," and other names equally 
suggestive of a barren desert, written across the maps where the great val- 
ley of the Snake w T ith its inexhaustible agricultural wealth of possibilities 
is now to be found. Perhaps it was this that sealed its fate for over a 
quarter of a century. 

The few farmers who had settled along Willow Creek, and irrigated their 
farms in a primitive way from these waters, sold their products in 1888, at 
the station of Eagle Rock, now Idaho Falls, which amounted, all told, to 
one and a half carloads, and brought the farmers at the rate of $500 
a car, or $750. About this time the attention of capitalists was attracted to 
the marvelous possibilities of this great valley. Irrigating ditches began 
to be constructed. 

In 1889, one hundred carloads of surplus agricultural products were 
exported from the town, bringing the farmers about $500 a car, or $50,000. 
In 1890, four hundred carloads were exported, bringing the farmers about 
$200,000. 

In 1891, the total output from the station at Idaho Falls, was- twelve 
hundred carloads, which brought the farmers around the new young city 
about $500 a car, or $600,000. There were only 26,000 acres of land farmed 
that year in the valley. 

The present year of 1892, 60,000 acres have been farmed, and as a result, 
fully 3,000 carloads of surplus agricultural products will be exported, bring- 
ing the farmers, in round numbers, $1,500,000 in payment for their surplus 
crops. 

This geometrical increase in exports has truly been wonderful. At the 
present time some thirty odd canals in the valley around Idaho Falls are 



IDAHO. 55 

in operation, covering over 600,000 acres of land, rich as the famous valley 
of the Nile ; and yet, of this vast acreage only 60,000 acres were farmed 
this present year. 

Think for a moment of the great commonwealth — the agricultural king- 
dom that will be presented around and tributary to Idaho Falls, when the 
600,000 acres of land, now watered by numerous irrigating canal systems, 
shall be cultivated by thrifty husbandmen. 

It is conservatively estimated that in 1893, fully 150,000 acres of this 
land will be cultivated. The center of desire — the hub — of this great body 
of agricultural land, marvelously rich and productive, is the city of Idaho 
Falls. 

The only bonded indebtedness on the new town is an issue of $10,000 of 
bonds, which recently sold to a Denver capitalist at a handsome premium, 
and the proceeds utilized in helping to erect a magnificent High School 
building ; hence, the taxes are very low. In this 'one particular it differs 
from nearly every other western town, and shows conclusively, that 
excellent judgment has been displayed by those interested in its 
promotion. 

The Government Experimental Farm is located a mile and a half away 

from the new city. 

* 

A year ago, a great contest occurred in the State of Idaho. It was for 
the location in some city of the State, of the Odd Fellows' Orphans' Home. 
In the struggle and contest, Idaho Falls was the winner. One of the 
buildings is now under headway and enclosed. It is estimated that fully 
$500,000 will be expended on this institution and grounds when fully com- 
pleted. 

The only United States Signal Service Station in the State of Idaho is 
located at Idaho Falls. 

The live, energetic spirit of the progressive business men of this giant 
young city in the Snake River valley, has now started out to capture the « 
State Agricultural College, and with excellent prospects of success. They 
fiavethe undivided support of Hon. Fred. T. DuBoise, U. S. Senator, and 
numerous other gentlemen of great political influence. 

Northward still is the village of Camas, an important shipping point for 
the southern portion of Lemhi county ; and still further north is Beaver 
Canon, which for six years has held first rank in the manufacture and 
shipment of lumber. Near each of these towns are abundant streams 
which nourish the numerous farms. Of all the counties dependent on 






56 IDAHO. 

irrigation, none excels Bingham in the number and importance of the 
running streams, and in none is the general system of irrigation surpassed. 
For three successive years the assessment roll of Bingham county has 
grown at the rate of $300,000 per annum, and this great increase still 
continues. 

The railway properties, which form fifty per cent of the assessment 
resources of the county, are valued the same as last year. The increase of 
more than $300,000, therefore, falls upon the property of private citizens. 
An actual advance in the local wealth of fully thirty per cent appears. 
Nearly all of this growth is among the farmers. The amount of improved 
lands patented has advanced from 75,482 acres in 1889 to 117,148 acres in 
1890. 

A very large number of new farms have been opened, and improve- 
ments of the most valuable and permanent character have been made. 
The system of irrigation, which is more extensively developed in Bingham 
than in any other county in Idaho, has been still further perfected this 
year. 

The county authorities have exercised an enlightened liberality in the 
construction of bridges and improvement of highways. In the northeastern 
portion of the county, where new settlements are more numerous, the 
increase in the general wealth has attracted the attention of railway 
authorities, and the early construction of a railroad 4ferough this region, as 
a branch of Utah Northern Line, is looked upon as an assured fact. The 
prosperity of agriculture has diverted attention, to some extent, from the 
mining resources of the county, and even the inhabitants of the town are 
making liberal investments in ranch lands. It is believed there is 
sufficient water supply existing in Bingham county to add one hundred 
per cent to the present area of its farm land. The population could be 
easily doubled outside of the towns, and outside of the timber and mining 
land. There is still an inexhaustible supply of timber, but somewhat 
remote from the railroad. 

The towns and cities of Bingham county enjoyed a very substantial 
growth in 1892. The needs of social and business life have both been better 
, provided for through the erection of additional warehouses, hotels, school 
houses, etc. 

The attention of placer mining experts is still frequently directed to the 
sands of the Snake River, in the endeavor to solve the problem of extract- 
ing the fine "flour gold." It has been frequently asserted that the sands 
of the Snake River contain gold enough to pay the national debt, and of 
this kind of wealth Bingham county has a large proportion. 



IDAHO. 57 

BOISE COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 10,701 acres, value $39,725 

Improvements on above 39,450 

Improvements on unpatented land 25,395 

Improvements on mining claims 11,000 

10 quartz mills 50,200 

125 mining" ditches *. 51,360 

10 irrigating- ditches 1,100 

Mortgages 43,192 

Money on hand 8,283 

Brandies and liquors 3,995 

Notes and accounts 23,312 

2,329 calves, at $10 23,290 

222 beef cattle at $25 5,550 

5,064 stock cattle, at $14 70,896 

47 colts, at $15 705 

543 American cows, at$25 13,575 

Store fixtures 750 

Furniture 5,300 

Goods, wares and merchandise 55,925 

Harness, robes and saddles 3,313 

712 hogs, at $4 2,848 

Merchandise 6,124 

14 thoroughbred horses 2,000 

2,133 American horses 62,350 

108,000 feet of lumber 1,055 

Saw-logs 11,357 

Machinery 4,870 

75 mules 3,410 

25 musical instruments 1,305 

32 oxen 865 

15 pianos 3,600 

Quicksilver 1,600 

62 sewing machines... 743 

3,927 sheep, at $2 7,854 

307 vehicles 11,175 

Watches and jewelry 2,705 

19,733 cords wood 14,819 

Other personal property 69,385 

Total valuation , $684,381 

Boise Basin was discovered in 1862 by prospectors, and settlement was 
stimulated by gold mining. The boundaries of Boise county were estab- 
lished at the first session of the Territorial Legislature, held at Lewiston, 
and approved February 4, 1864. 

By far the largest part of the county is mountainous, and forms part 
of the greatest and best timbered section of country situated between the 
Rocky Mountain range and the Blue Mountains of Oregon. A large and 
prosperous logging business is transacted, with indications of a more 
important future. The most accessible parts are on Moore's Creek, and 
the waters of the South, Middle, and North Forks of the Payette Kiver, 
from which last place the logs are driven to mills on the Lower Payette and 
the Snake Eivers. Should a railroad be constructed by which lumber 
could be easily got out of the country the business would become a large 
one. Preliminary surveys having this object in view have already been 
made. Many of the saw-mills in the mines were constructed and are run 
by the owners as adjuncts to their mining claims. One mill is also joined 
in a bed-rock fluming enterprise. Should an additional supply of water be 
brought in that would enable continuous working it would undoubtedly be 
a well paying venture. 

The agricultural resources of the county outside of the mountains are 
the settlements of the Lower Valley and Squaw Creek, and are places 



58 IDAHO. 

adapted to the production of varieties of grain, roots, vegetables, as well as 
a diversity of fruits, the last two finding their principal market in the 
mines at good prices. Hay is also put up in large quantities. Much atten- 
tion is given to stock from the convenient facilities afforded for grazing, 
and it is notable through the county that much care is given to improved 
breeding of both horses and cattle. Sheep are well graded up, the average 
fleece weighing 7 pounds. This year's clip found a market at 14 cents per 
pound. 

Garden Valley, located at the junction of the middle and south 
branches of the Payette, is the granary of the country. All farming pro- 
ducts are cultivated and considerable attention is given to hardy varieties 
of fruit. Here is established a grist-mill with a capacity of 24 barrels per 
day. It has for a long time been the principal source of supply for the 
home market for large quantities of hay, grain and vegetables. Laborers 
on farms receive from $30 to $40 per month. 

Fifteen miles from Garden Valley and on the North Fork, inclosed on all 
sides with mountains heavily timbered with pine, is Long Valley, a grassy 
plain stretching north 60 miles with a breadth of 9. It is divided length- 
wise by the river, receiving several tributaries in its traverse, which gives 
fine facilities for, and renders irrigation easy for, a large portion of its 
area. A short dam placed across the river where it emerges from a lake 
at the upper end of the valley would afford a storage of water of unlimited 
quantity. 

It is of recent settlement and now has a population estimated 
at 1,300. Some ditching has been done and quite extensive fencing. 
Grain and vegetables are cultivated and fruit trees planted. Attention is 
given principally to stock, both cattle and horses ; grazing is unsurpassed, 
but feed has to be provided for winter. Seven thousand tons of native hay 
have been put up for that purpose this season. Two saw-mills are steadily 
employed furnishing lumber. On the tributary streams mines are worked 
for gold, and a vein of coal discovered this summer on Gold Fork is stated 
to have a thickness of 7 feet. The waters are abundantly supplied with 
fine fish, and the genus trout is represented by four varieties. 

Mining has always been the largest source of revenue. In early days, 
ground easily worked— creeks and low bars — first engaged attention, and 
only heavy diggings remain. Several of the lesser outside camps help to 
swell the sum total. The mining camp, Dead Wood Basin, is located on a 
branch of the South Payette. It has a large placer mine, which is worked 
on an extensive scale, besides several smaller ones. Ledges prospecting well 
in gold and silver have been located, and considerable work in the way of 
development has been expended upon them, and, with the construction of 
a wagon road to facilitate the transportation of machinery and heavy 
materials, will no doubt become prominent. 

The Elmira Silver Mining Company, at Banner, is exclusively a silver 
producer. It has been worked for several years and with a continually 
augmenting output, and is now known as one of the most prominent and 
best paying properties. 



IDAHO. 59 

The Washington mine is now running with a 20-atamp mill on high- 
grade ores, carrying both gold and silver. The property is a valuable one, 
and has a large amount of ore ready for extraction. 

The Elk Horn has been known as a great producer ; was worked at an 
early period, and is now crushing good ores. Having a water-power mill, 
expenses are of course light. A contract has been let to drive a tunnel for 
deeper development, which will occupy the coming winter. 

The Gold Hill Gold and Silver Mining Company, at Quartzburg, is one 
of long standing, and their property is noted as a continuous running and 
regular paying mine. The only stoppage for more than twenty years was 
accidental, and caused by burning of the mill. The workings have reached 
the depth of 400 feet, but they have for some time and now are taking out 
ore from the 180-foot level, which presents a face of 40 feet. The mill is of 
25-stamp capacity, with automatic feeders, crushers, and automatic air- 
compressor. 

The Queen of the West is located 3 miles from Pioneer. The ore is free 
milling and easily extracted. The mine is developed by a shaft 172 feet 
deep and connecting with a tunnel measuring 360 feet. A mill of 20 
stamps with capacity for more, and to be run by water power, is near com- 
pletion. The property is owned by an Eastern company. 

The Basin, drained by Moore's Creek, is an area or cluster of placer 
mines measuring 15 miles either way, and contains the towns of Quartz- 
burg, Granite Creek, Placerville, Centerville, Pioneer, and Idaho City. It 
has for a long time been noted for its large number of paying placer mines, 
and from the fact that water has never been in proportion to the ground 
workable, much gold remains to be taken out, and with an average fall of 
snow to supply the streams with their usual amount of water, the quantity 
yearly may be estimated with almost mathematical accuracy. 

The county of Boise is one of the best timbered counties in the State 
and contributes most of the supply of wood and timber to the adjoining 
county of Ada. This with the necessary consumption of the mines is 
a heavy draft upon the forests of the county, but worst of all vast forest 
fires have raged for weeks, despite the utmost efforts of the people to stay 
them. Vast quantities of timber have been killed, large quantities of cord- 
wood burned, and valuable mining and farming properties imperiled. It 
is well worth the attention of the General Government, as well as of the 
local governments, to use all means practicable to stay the frequent 
occurrence of these fires, as their oft repetition is certain to produce disastrous 
climatic changes. Once these forests are destroyed the fall of snow and 
rain is more or less affected, and if not materially lessened passes off in 
floods in the early season, and leaves those dependent on water for mining 
and irrigation later in the season destitute. 



60 IDAHO. 

• CASSIA COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 48,224 acres $ 153,710 

Improvements on the above 52,405 

Improvements on unpatented land '., 34,660 

Mining claims 9,800 

Town lots 5,595 

Improvements on the same .-.„ 15,440 

Irrigating ditches 3,528 

120 calves 803 

13,806 stock cattle 151,866 

47 thoroughbred cows 1,750 

635 American cows 12,700 

72 graded cows 1,355 

Fixtures 225 

Furniture 650 

Goods, wares and merchandise 18,605 

Harness, robes and saddles 2,292 

399 hogs 1,700 

12 thoroughbred horses 3,050 

50 colts 460 

731 American horses 36,042 

4,078 Spanish horses 73,127 

Jacks 150 

Machinery 7,430 

72 mules 2,215 

7 oxen 200 

18 pianos and organs 610 

25,850 sheep 51,700 

Solvent credits 7,200 

483 wagons 15,865 

9 watches 330 

Grist and saw mills 6,500 

Ferry-boats 650 

Total valuation $672,613 

From the earliest settlement of this county its growth has been steady 
and uniform. Its irrigating canals have been planned, built and extended 
by far-sighted pioneers. Year by year the acreage of improved land 
redeemed from the desert by water conducted from distant springs and 
streams has been largely increased, and the refreshed and invigorated soil 
has made abundant return to the farmer. Still, more than 1,000,000 acres 
wait for like relief. In no part of the State is the extension of the reservoir 
and canal system, under the direction of the United States Government, 
more largely watched or more ardently desired than in Cassia, for this 
extension and development cannot fail to place this county in the front 
rank of population and wealth. 

Attempts have been made, in a desultory way, to develop the mineral 
resources of this county, and indications of gold, silver, lead and other 
deposits are found all over the mountains. Assays are frequently made 
running away up into the thousands, but work has not been prosecuted to 
any depth, and there is no reliable information as to what may be lying 
underneath. The county will certainly justify extensive and thorough 
prospecting, for these numerous rich spurs must certainly lead to one or 
more great central deposits. 

Placer mines are the most promising for immediate results. This county 
has a frontage on Snake River of over 200 miles, and the sands of this 
stream are rich in gold through its entire length. Sanguine miners state 
that with abundant water, having sufficient head and properly worked, 
there would be enough taken out of these deposits to pay the national debt. 



IDAHO. 61 

While this statement is doubtless extravagant, still there is foundation for 
large estimates. 

This county also contains extensive deposits of the very best fire-proof 
mineral paint, large deposits of fine marble, sandstone, granite, mica and 
many indications of abundance of coal. 

There is a fair and steady demand for intelligent labor among the ranch 
and stock men. Eeliable herders receive $35 to $40 per month ; farm hands, 
$25 to $30 per month ; during haying $2 per day is paid. 

Very little can be added to the previous reports concerning this county, 
and a large growth can hardly be looked for before the advent of railways. 
The inducements offered to capitalists and settlers are very attractive. The 
topographical features of the county and the quality of the soil, together 
with the abundance of water in Snake River, invite large irrigation projects 
which require immense capital. Should private enterprise fail to take up 
the great work of supplying the northern portion of Cassia county with 
irrigation, it is probable that the aid of the National Government will be 
invoked in a need so great and a situation so meritorious. 

The valleys of the central and western portions of this county are fairly 
supplied with water, and the settlers are constantly extending their local 
irrigation systems. There is therefore a constant annual increase in the 
acreage of cultivated lands, and many prosperous homes will yet be 
established in Cassia. The county is well supplied with timber for fuel 
and for building purposes. 

A railway line has been surveyed from Salt Lake City, through Cassia, 
to connect the capital of Utah with the towns and cities, of southern Idaho. 
Such a line if built would double the population and business of Cassia 
county, and would receive from the day of its opening a living patronage. 
The attention of railway authorities is invited to this project, as one 
promising excellent results. 

In spite of all obstacles the industrious people of Cassia have prospered 
during 1890. The towns of Albion and Oakley are creditably located and 
built. The county affairs are economically handled. The exports of this 
county, though exchanged under most unfavorable conditions, are quite 
large. The climate is moderate and healthful. New settlers will find 
good locations and fair water supply awaiting development ; they will find 
peace-loving communities, and public sentiment growing in intelligence 
and enterprise. 

CUSTER COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Land, 25,780 acres, improvements $196,290 

3 quartz mills 45,000 

3 concentrators 18,000 

3 smelters 17,000 

Mining ditches 4,200 

Irrigation ditches 8,430 

State and county bonds 17,460 

Money on hand 15,530 

490 beef cattle at$25 12,250 

7,685 stock cattle at $12 92,220 

45 thoroughbred oows at $40 1,300 



62 IDAHO. 

Assessment Values. 

88 American cows at $25 $ 2,200 

Farming utensils 6,840 

Store and saloon fixtures 10,490 

Furniture 8,640 

Goods, wares and merchandise 108,450 

240 hogs : 1,920 

5 graded horses at $400 2,000 

210 American horses at $70 14,700 

2,984mixed horses at $25 74,600 

290 mules at $40 11,600 

45 musical instruments at $60 2,700 

115 sewing machines at $20 2,300 

Solvent credits 15,450 

550 vehicles at $40 1,800 

100 watches at $40 4,000 

18,350 sheep at $1.50 27,800 

Total valuation $723,670 

Custer county was organized by act of the Legislature passed on the 8th 
day of January, 1881, which w T ent into effect on the 1st day of April of the 
same year. The territory of which it is composed was taken from Lemhi 
and Alturas counties. The enumeration made at the late census places its 
population at 2,174. This does not represent the real number of inhabit- 
ants within its borders. Many of the people are remote from settlements 
engaged in prospecting, others with flocks and herds scattered over a ter- 
ritory as large as the State of Connecticut. The county contains approxi- 
mately 4,350 square miles. Of this, the greater part is mountainous, con- 
taining many mining districts, though there are three large agricultural 
valleys, besides smaller tracts, where all the cereals and vegetables common 
to this climate are grown. The greater tracts alluded to are Lost River, 
Pah Samari and Round Valley. 

MINERAL RESOURCES. 

Mining is at present and for many years will be the leading industry of 
the county. There are more than two hundred developed and productive 
quartz-mining properties within its limits, besides over two thousand pros- 
pects, a large number of which will undoubtedly prove to be rich mines. 

The mineral belt crossing the western portion of Custer county is one 
of the most extensive in the West. It is at least 100 miles in length and 
50 in width, interspersed with gold and silver ores along its entire extent. 
This section of the county is not well provided with roads, and the ores 
have been freighted to the railroad at Ketchum on pack animals. With 
all this attendant expense they have paid. It will be seen from this fact 
that great returns will be made to the mine-owners when better means of 
transportation shall be afforded or the ores can be reduced in the vicinity 
of the mines. 

The most prominent among the mining districts of Custer county are 
Lost River, on the stage road from Blackfoot to Challis, about 50 miles 
south of the latter; Yankee Fork, 35 miles west of Challis; Bay Horse, 12 
miles southwest of Challis ; Kinnikinnick, 16 miles south of Bay Horse ; 
Squaw Creek, 4 miles farther south, and East Fork, 35 miles. 

Yankee Fork Mining District. — The mines of this district have been 
very productive of both gold and silver, and have been considered the best 
in the country. The principal among them are the Unknown, Charles 
Dickens, Grand Prize, Grey Eagle, Lucky Boy, Badger, Summit, Conti- 



IDAHO. 63 

nental, Fourth of July, Daniel O'Connell, Juliet, Montana, Whale, Wayne 
and Anna. A 30-stamp mill erected in 1880, the capacity of which was 
greatly enlarged in 1882, has crushed many thousand tons of ore, and 
added several millions of dollars to the gold and silver output of Idaho. 
There is but little lead in the ores of this district. 

East Fork or Germania Basin. — The mines in this district are in a 
brown porphyry formation with true fissure veins, and have produced $100 
in silver and $20 in gold to the ton of ore. The Croesus, Bible Back, Idaho, 
Tyrolese, Jefferson, Washington, Stutterberg and Sperling are all produc- 
ing both gold and silver. 

Bay Horse District. — The Kamshorn group of mines in this district 
have been extensive producers of silver. The Kamshorn, Utah Boy, Post 
Boy and Montreal are among the oldest discoveries in the county, The 
Beardsley, Excelsior, Hood, Good Enough, Keno, Jarvis, Barton, Home- 
stake, Dumpby, Riverview, Hoosier, Sky Lark, Silver Wing, Utah Boy and 
Post Boy carry high grade ores. Some of these mines carry a large per- 
centage of lead, iron and silica. The last named minerals perform an 
important part in the formation of fluxes for smelting. There is a 40-ton 
smelter in the district situated upon Bay Horse creek. Charcoal is used 
for fuel. 

Kinnikinnick District.— At the town of Clayton, in this district, a 
smelter is in operation, and makes large shipments of bullion to Ketchum. 
It is doing a fine business. Among the mines owned by the company are 
the Ella, Overland, Faithful Boy and Monitor. The Silver Bill, You 
Know and Redemption are all valuable mines. 

There are many good mines in Squaw Creek, Slate Creek, and neighbor- 
ing districts. They carry a fair percentage of lead and sixty ounces of sil- 
ver to the ton. Teams loaded with bullion, the silver of which is mostly 
the product of these mines, are constantly upon the road from Clayton to 
Ketchum at all seasons except for a time in winter when the intervening 
mountains are impassable from the depth of snow. 

Lost River District. — This mining district has several valuable prop- 
erties containing, lead, silver, and copper ores. The Grand Prize, Alice, 
Mammoth, Black Daisy, Jay Gould, Buena Vista, Golden Wave, Copper 
King, Henrietta and Old Judge are the most prominent. 

One of the greatest difficulties in the way of the development of the 
mines of Custer county has been in their isolation and transportation 
being so great. In view of the richness of the mines, the great agricultural 
capabilities of the county, the fact that one-fourth of its mountainous area 
is heavily timbered with spruce, fir and pine, must all combine to render 
railroad facilities for its people an event of the near future. A branch road 
connecting with the Utah and Northern or with the Union Pacific, or both, 
would be an enterprise attended with profitable results. 

agriculture. 

If Custer county excels as a mining section, it none the less can lay 
claim to excellence as a farming and stock-raising district. It has several 



84 IDAHO. 

valleys suitable for such purpose, chief among which are those of Lost 
River, Pah Sarnari and Round Valley. 

The Lost River Valley contains therein about 100 square miles of till- 
able land, the Pah Samari about fifty, and Round Valley about thirty. The 
time is not far distant when every acre of it will be made available for 
farming purposes. The business of the agriculturist has been made profit- 
able because he has been able to find a home market. The number of 
consumers of farm productions will increase as fast as the agricultural pop- 
ulation. 

Until within the past six years fruit culture has been entirely neglected. 
Within that time large numbers of apple, plum, pear and cherry trees have 
been planted in the various valleys, notably the Round Valley, where they 
are flourishing. There is no doubt but that in a few years all the fruit will 
be raised in this county that the wants of the people require. Wild berries 
are very abundant. 

Stock Raising. — There are thousands of acres of excellent grazing 
lands, not only in the valleys but upon the mountain sides. Experience 
has demonstrated, however, that it is well for the stock man to be prepared 
to meet possibilities of severe winters. 

Timber. — There are many tracts of fine timber in Custer county. 
Millions of feet might be exported and enough left to provide for the wants 
of its inhabitants for mining, building, farming, and domestic purposes 
with all of its prospective population for an indefinite period of time. 

There is but little surveyed land in the county, and until the past year 
there has been none. Many of the farmers have lived on their claims for 
periods of ten years and are subject to great hardship, not knowing where 
their boundaries will be when the land is surveyed, and being unable to 
obtain title whereby transfer of any portion can be made. 

ELMORE COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 16,145 acres $ 49,616 

Improvements on above 38,660 

Improvements on unpatented land, 4,215 acres 9,825 

31 mining claims 7,661 

Telegraph lines 5,876 

13 quartz mills 141,471 

1 concentrator 250 

8 mining ditches 5,996 

14 irrigating ditches 370 

Oregon Short Line Railway Company 420,355 

Money on hand 21,050 

4,597 stock cattle 53,765 

Farming utensils 1,510 

Fire-arms 80 

Harness, robes and saddles 15,221 

73 hogs 375 

Goods, wares and merchandise 36,970 

1,860 American horses 50,083 

Machinery 141,810 

Pianos and organs 1,340 

49 sewing- machines 925 

25,615 sheep 51,230 

176 vehicles 6,660 

38 watches 907 

Wood 5,000 

Improvements on town lots , 113,000 

Total valuation 1,179,906 



IDAHO. 68 

The Sources of wealth in Elmore county are fourfold; quartz mining, 
placer mining, forestry, and stock raising. Near the northern boundary of 
this county is the town of Atlanta, the oldest quartz mining town of south- 
ern Idaho. Twenty years ago, unusually large investments of capital in 
machinery and mining development were made at this place, and for a 
time the output of gold was enormous. Why these great mines have 
remained unopened for half a generation is not known to the public. 
Disagreement and litigation among the owners are said to be part of the 
causes of this unfortunate state of affairs. The place is also quite difficult 
of access, and mining operations here require very large capital. The best 
informed believe that the time is not far distant when the famous mines of 
Atlanta will reopen their treasures. 

Sixteen miles to the south of Atlanta and 60 miles north of Mountain 
Home is Rocky Bar, the present county seat. At or near this place about 
twenty mines are in course of development. Expensive mills and 
machinery have been introduced, and strong companies control the field. 
During the year 1888, the yield of gold reached over half a million dollars. 

Heretofore the profits of mining have drawn attention away from stock- 
raising and farming; irrigating canals have not been constructed to an 
extent equal to other counties, but public attention is now awakened in 
this direction. Shipments from Mountain Home show conclusively that 
the production of live stock and transactions in wool, hides and grain are 
rapidily increasing. Many irrigating ditches are assuming the proportions 
of extensive canals, the older farmers are finding to their own gratification 
that orchards can be successfuly cultivated. Indeed this is an era of wise 
beginnings of great enterprises in Elmore county. 

The great pine forests of this county have as yet been lightly touched 
by the hand of man. Local needs have kept six saw-mills in operation and 
about 1,000,000 feet of lumber have been manufactured. When the county 
government shall be able to greatly improve the highways this industry 
will be rapidly developed. The towns of Rocky Bar, Mountain Home, and 
Glenn's Ferry are improving in all directions. The latter town is a rail- 
road division, with railway shops and engine-houses. Both public and 
private buildings in each of these towns are increasing in number and 
value, and the educational system is being developed. Few counties in 
Idaho offer greater inducements to new settlers at this time. 

The number of acres of patented lands in Elmore county increased 60 
per cent during 1890 and the improvements on the ranch lands have been 
of a permanent and valuable character. This county needs a careful sur- 
vey by a civil engineer to ascertain definitely its levels. There are many 
streams carrying a heavy body of water, sufficient to irrigate thousands of 
acres, but private enterprise has not been able as yet to devise a complete 
system of canals. The supply of water so far controlled has been utilized 
in the improvements of many farms of exceeding beauty and productive- 
ness, but their entire area is not equal to one-tenth of the good soil of this 
county. Meanwhile the attention of capitalists is directed to this county, 
and definite information can be obtained by addressing the president of 
the board of trade, Mountain Home. 



66 IDAHO. 

The county scat for nearly two years was temporarily loeated at Rocky 
Bar, a mining town of thrift and energy, but the votes of the people have 
decided that the permanent location of the county's capital shall hereafter 
be afMountain Home, a point on the Oregon Short Line, more convenient 
to the majority of the people. 

Mountain Home has about 600 inhabitants and is a substantial, hand- 
some, and well-built town. It is the leading shipping point for a broad 
district of country and the railroad and general merchandise business here 
is large. It is one of the most important wool shipping points in Idaho, 
and if a proper water supply is obtained should be the seat of great woolen 
manufactures. 

The county will provide substantial buildings at Mountain Home during 
the coming year. 

Glenn's Ferry is an active railroad town, which during the last two years 
has grown from nothing to a population only second to Mountain Home. 
It is a freight division of the Oregon Short Line, and many railway em- 
ployes have their homes here. The title to the lands upon which it stands 
has recently been permanently settled, and we now look for the erection 
of valuable stores and tasteful residences. That the town and county are 
prosperous is evidenced by the rates of wages paid, which are authorita- 
tively quoted as follows : Locomotive engineers and conductors, $3.85 per 
100 miles; firemen and brakemen, $2.25 per 100 miles; stationary engi- 
neers, $75 per month; machinists, $3.50 per day; boiler-makers, $3.50 per 
day; blacksmiths and carpenters, $3 to $3.50 per day; painters, $2.75 per 
day ; laborers, $2 per day ; hostlers, $75 per month ; track foremen, $65 per 
month; track laborers, $1.65 per day; agents and operators, $75 to $90 per 
month ; ranch hands, $30 per month and board ; placer miners, $2 per day 
and board ; herders, $50 per month and board. 

MINING INTERESTS OF ELMORE COUNTY. 

The Alturas Company, of Rocky Bar, have been sinking a large treble 
compartment shaft for the past six months, expending in such labor the 
sum of $50,000. The work is now nearly complete, and when it is, will 
give employment to at least one hundred and fifty men. 

The Mountain Goat Company have been developing their mine for the 
past year, and are now erecting new hoisting and pumping works which 
will be completed in the near future, and when so completed will give 
employment to not less than sixty men. The Comfort Consolidated Com- 
pany have also been at work nearly the entire year in sinking a large 
treble compartment shaft, erecting a new 20-stamp mill, new hoisting and 
pumping works, etc., and when this is completed, which will be in a few 
weeks, will furnish employment to not less than one hundred men. 

The White Star Company is now erecting a mill of 50 tons capacity per 
day, and will have it completed this autumn. This mill is being erected 
upon the Dividend mine, adjacent to the South Boise River, and when 
completed will give employment to not less than sixty men. There are a large 
number of mines owned by private individuals who are extracting goodly 



IDAHO. 67 

quantities of ore of an excellent grade. These mines are scattered all over 
this district, and the ore extracted from them is reduced in two custom 
mills, yielding in almost every instance generous returns to the owners, 
and sufficient to enable such owners to support their families and them- 
selves and also to educate their children, in most instances far above the 
average of working people. The happy surroundings of their homes would 
indicate comfort and prosperity. 

There are in Rocky Bar district 122 head of stamps with a crushing 
capacity of 224 tons of ore daily. Then the White Star Company (Griffin 
mill), with a capacity of 50 tons daily, makes the total of crushing and 
reducing capacity of the camp 274 tons. On the Red Warrior is located 
the Wide West Company's mill. This company has been closed down for 
the past season, owing to some misunderstanding among the owners. The 
same may be said of the Bonapart Company. Both of these companies 
will recommence operations in a short time and will give employment to 
not less than one hundred and fifty men, and add very largely to the output 
and prosperity of the county. 

Atlanta District. — There are in this district five mills, consisting of 
75 head of stamps, with a crushing and reducing capacity of 150 tons daily. 
From various causes this camp has for some time been under a cloud. The 
chief cause, however, is that some of the principal mines were bonded to 
an English syndicate for sale for the sum of $600,000, and the sale was 
at one time effected, but owing to the Alien land law the principal pro- 
moters refused to endorse the sale until such law could be repealed, so far 
as relating to mines and mining locations. Now that Idaho is a State, this 
sale will doubtless be consummated within the next three months and will 
give employment as formerly to not less than four hundred men. 

There is also in Atlanta two concentrating mills, which have a daily 
capacity of 40 tons, both of which are now in constant operation and pro- 
ducing marvelous results upon ores, which were hitherto considered worth- 
less and thrown over the various dumps. 

Pine Grove District. — This district can boast of some remarkably rich 
mines, both as to quantity and quality of ore. They have one ten-stamp 
mill, which is in constant operation, producing results which are entirely 
satisfactory to the owners, and causing an anxious inquiry among mining 
men. Indeed, when the development work now under way shall have been 
completed, a boom must in the natural course of business be inaugurated. 
The location of this camp is peculiarly adapted to entice population 
within its borders. Here we find "Therman Springs, " with a temperature 
the year round from 50° to 150° Fahrenheit, and possessing medicinal prop- 
erties of remarkable efficacy, and particularly so in the case of rheumatism 
and chronic diseases. It is surrounded by beautiful groves of primeval 
forests and fertile grazing lands, bountifully watered, and capable of sus- 
taining a population of many thousands. 



68 IDAHO. 

IDAHO COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 61,236 acres $192,673 

Improvements on above 74,075 

Land proved up on 21,720 acres 63,050 

Improvements on above 22,025 

Improvements on unpatented lands, 36,725 acres ! 25,795 

Improvements on unsurveyed lands 16,900 

3 quartz-mills 2,650 

Iron pipe and hose 1,000 

1 shingle-mill 1,075 

1 flour-mill 1,400 

5 saw-mills 3,900 

30 mining ditches 18,905 

Money on hand, notes and other securities 82,877 

13,200 stock cattle, at $14.77 194,901 

21 thoroughbred bulls, at $64. 23 1,350 

53 thoroughbred cows, at $41. 41.... 2,195 

871 milch cows, at $20 17,420 

2,410 hogs, at $2.29 5,537 

Bacon 400 

9 stallions, at $322.22 2,900 

7,863 mixed horses, at$17.86 140,254 

2 jacks and jennies 365 

80 mules, at $24.13 1,931 

11 work oxen, at $26.36 290 

7,282 sheep, at $1 7,282 

Farming utensils 466 

Store fixtures 245 

Furniture 2,333 

Goods, wares and merchandise 48,790 

Machinery 7,168 

Musical instruments 1,925 

Vehicles 12,982 

6 watches, at $50 300 

1 wire bridge 2,000 

1 ferry-boat 400 

Personal property not enumerated 42,479 

Total valuation $1,000,808 

Hon. A. F. Parker writes : — 

"The western base of Idaho county is washed by the waters of Snake 
River, and it is bounded on the east by the Bitter Root Divide, forming 
the State boundary line between Idaho and Montana, a distance of 
nearly 200 miles from east to west. From north to south it covers a nearly 
equal distance. Through the center of this vast area courses the Salmon 
River, draining with its multitudinous tributaries the largest and least known 
scope of mineral country on the Pacific slope. Through its northern limits 
flows the Clearwater, draining on the western slope of the Bitter Root Moun- 
tains the finest forests of timber on the continent. Its principal agricultural 
settlement is the great Camas Prairie, an elevated plateau forming a low 
divide between the Salmon and Clearwater rivers, which at one point are 
only thirty miles apart. Throughout the region drained by these rivers 



IDAHO. 69 

are vast areas of unexplored country whose surrounding character- 
istics indicate an extensive zone containing large deposits of the royal 
metals. 

" In the heart of the surrounding mountains are the famous placer mines 
of Oro Fino, Elk City, Florence, Warrens, and Salmon rivers, names 
which, in the early '60s electrified the mining world with their marvelous 
output of precious metal, and paved the way for the establishment of the 
more enduring industries of cattle-raising and agriculture which now con 
stitute the bulk of its wealth. These old mining camps are still extensively 
worked, and are still supplied by means of pack trains which average in 
distance traveled ten miles per day. As the distance from the base of sup- 
plies is 150 miles, it can be easily seen that only the richest ground can 
stand the great expense of this primitive method of transportation. 

" The great need of Idaho county is wagon roads and railroads, and, 
with the cheaper transportation which these handmaids of civilization 
would bring, this scantily settled county would afford sustenance to a very 
large mining population, which would work the numerous mining regions 
where gold is known to exist in paying quantities. With the development 
which railroads bring, ten thousand men would find profitable employment 
in mining the golden sands from the rich gravel bars which line the banks 
and tributaries of Salmon Eiver from its source to its mouth. The richer 
claims on this golden stream are even now worked at a more or less varia- 
ble profit, and good prospects are being constantly found. Where wing- 
dams have been constructed as high as $2,000 have been taken out in 
twenty-four hours. Gold is found in nearly all the tributaries of 
the Salmon. They have never yet been carefully prospected for the 
wealth they contain, for even the most reckless of enterprising miners 
begins to study the situation when freight is from five to fifteen cents per 
pound. 

1 'There are hundreds of acres of ground in all the old placer mining camps 
which could be profitably worked if the country were made accessible by 
wagon roads ; and in all the adjacent country on both sides of the Clearwater 
and Salmon rivers are great quartz districts, all lying just as nature left 
them and awaiting cheaper transportation to be developed into great, 
wealthy and productive mining camps. The whole of this great interior in 
the heart of Idaho is practically a terra incognita of wild and forbidding 
aspect, and its development will be necessarily slow, from the fact that it 
is isolated and apart from any of the great traveled thoroughfares. 

"The placer mining industry still employs a large population, as may 
be gathered from the fact that Idaho county leads the list of gold-dust-pro- 
ducing counties of the State. Placer mining has hitherto almost exclusively 
engaged the attention of its mining population, but within the past few 
months important quartz discoveries have been made at several points 
within the area of its unprospected mountain ranges. The Bitter Root 
Range, forming the eastern boundary of the county and State, is, in reality, 
the true backbone of the continent, and it has been less prospected than 
any other range, although enough is known of its character and formation 



70 IDAHO. 

to justify the belief that it is seamed with ribs and veins of gold and silver 
bearing quartz. The Salmon River Mountains also afford an inviting 
field for exploration, for the range has scarcely been touched by the pick 
of the prospector for quartz, and placer mining has been confined to the 
river bars and the small basins tributary to the main river. The larger 
forks of the Salmon River are all an unknown country, that cannot but be 
rich in mineral wealth, from the fact that it is the source from whence the 
gold of the placer camps was derived. In Warren's diggings the quartz 
interests are already assuming large proportions, and ten-stamp batteries, 
with furnaces and complete reduction apparatus, as well as several aras- 
tras, are kept steadily running on high-grade ore." 

This is the largest county in this State, yet in spite of its really wonder- 
ful capabilities it has been one of the slowest in development. The lack of 
transportation facilities is the cause of the comparatively slow growth of 
Idaho county. Railroads are now in process of construction from the 
north and northwest, which will doubtless afford the northern portion of 
this county an outlet for its agricultural products and the State government 
is now constructing a w T agon road which will facilitate the development of 
the southern portion. Contracts have been let for a good wagon road 
from Meadows, in Washington county, to Warrens, in Idaho county, and 
from thence to Mount Idaho, the county seat. The work is under direc- 
tion of a State commission, of which Hon. N. B. Willey, Lieutenant- 
Governor, is chairman. 

The mines of the western portion of Idaho county have been frequently 
described and space will not permit a detailed statement of their present 
condition and prospects. They have been worked for years under the 
greatest obstacles. Supplies have been carried for 150 miles over difficult 
trails on the backs of pack animals, and the products of the mines have 
been returned in the same way. The elevation is considerable, the work- 
ing season short, and expenses are very heavy. Yet, under all these 
unfavorable circumstances, the mines have yielded a uniform profit. 
Could the mines of Warrens district and other mineral districts of Idaho 
county be reached by railroad and furnished with sufficient capital, it is 
probable that this section would become one of the greatest producers of 
precious metals known in the history of mining. 

In a recent interview, Lieutenant-Governor N. B. Willey said: 

"The wheat crop far surpasses that of any previous year and the prices 
are satisfactory to the producer. The enormous piles of grain accumulat- 
ing at shipping points, with a ready market and prompt payment, 
wreathes the farmer's brow with smiles. 

"The mining interests of the north are also in a prosperous condition. 
In the old placer camp of Elk City numerous discoveries of large veins of 
auriferous ore give promise of great results as soon as a wagon road can 
connect that district with the outside world. In Florence the yield of 
gold, mostly from placer ground, still continues good. 

"In Warrens three 5-stamp mills and two arastras are in operation most 
of the time. The Mayflower mine employs fourteen men, and runs day 



IDAHO. 71 

and night as long as the inclemency of season permits the use of water 
power. The yield per ton is unknown to any except the owners, but the 
gross output is quite large. 

"The Keystone is worked by an arastra and the ore is reported to yield 
over $80 per ton, but the vein is quite small, averaging between 6 and 12 
inches in thickness. The Giant, owned by G. Reibold, is the largest pro- 
ducer of the camp. For many years the annual output of ore has yielded 
between $70 and $216 per ton for the entire amount of ore produced. 
Mr. Reibold has also a complete plant for working silver ore, consisting of 
roasting furnace, pans, steam supply, retorts and assay office and all 
necessary equipments. He employs quite a number of men throughout 
the year. The Wolverine, owned by S. A. Willey, is a very small vein 
from one to five inches in thickness, but the quantity of precious metal it 
contains is very unusual. It never pays less than $100 per ton in free gold 
and the tailings being roasted with salt and worked for silver, produce all 
the way from 200 to 1,700 ounces per ton of that important metal. 

"There are also numerous other properties more or less developed 
which employ each a few men." 

AGRICULTURE. 

The great Camas Prairie is the only portion of Idaho county which is 
available for agricultural purposes. It is the largest and best body of 
agricultural land in the State and is rapidly settling up with a desirable 
and thrifty class of immigrants. This prairie has an altitude of 3,000 feet 
and is situated on a low divide between the Salmon and Clearwater rivers. 
The climate is wonderfully bracing and good, the temperature being 
modified by the warm air rising from the canons of the great rivers which 
inclose it, while the warm breath of the never-failing "Chinook" wind 
causes the open winters, which make it such an unexcelled cattle-raising 
country. During winter of 1889, which was of exceptional severity, the 
loss of live stock running on the range without feed did not exceed 2% per 
cent. Owing to its isolation and absence of a market — it is 63 miles from 
Lewiston, the nearest shipping point — the residents of Camas Prairie are 
almost exclusively dependent upon cattle-raising to consume their pro- 
ducts. The society is of a very high standard, and the people are unusually 
intelligent, hospitable, orderly and thrifty. The county jail has not had 
an inmate for a long time. 

In respect to agriculture, Idaho county contains within her borders an 
immense amount of fertile land capable of producing any crop that can be 
raised in the temperate zone without irrigation. The rainfall is always 
abundant enough to insure heavy crops without irrigation. The varying 
altitudes of the agricultural lands lend diversity to the products of the 
county. In the valley lands bordering on the banks of the Salmon and 
Clearwater rivers, fruits of the choicest kinds are raised and the soil there 
seems to possess just the right mineral properties for the successful raising 
of grapes, which are produced so successfully that the richest vineyards of 
Southern France can not surpass them in quality or quantity. On the 



72 IDAHO. 

higher altitudes of the bench and prairie lands, the cereal crops and the 
hardier varieties of fruits, such as apples, pears, plums and prunes grow to 
perfection. 

On Camas Prairie the average yield of wheat, taking one year 
with another, is 30 bushels per acre; oats, 50 bushels; barley, 60 bushels; 
timothy, two tons per acre. In exceptionally favorable years these yields 
are more than doubled. The soil is a rich, black loam of unexcelled 
fertility and productiveness. General O.O. Howard, who conducted the 
Nez Perce* war of 1877, thus describes Camas Prairie : 

"The broad and beautiful Camas Prairie opens out before you as you 
set your back to Craig's Mountain and look towards the southeast. The 
straight road in your front leads from you to Grange ville and Mount Idaho. 
What a beautiful stretch of rolling prairie land ! Where is there richer 
soil or finer prospects? Towards the right is the " Snake country."* The 
Salmon, which flows northwesterly, empties into the Snake not more than 
twenty miles to the southwest. The Cottonwood Creek, heading near by, 
runs easterly into the curvilinear Clearwater, twenty miles off, and the 
Rocky Canon Creek, close by, shoots out southwest to join the Salmon, 
while White Bird, before described, makes its remarkable canon and 
empties into the Salmon a few miles further up that stream. This country 
is as well watered as Eden, and as fertile as any garden which has been 
much longer under cultivation. When the Pacific railroads shall be com- 
pleted the Camas Prairie will not be despised.'" 

There is much land available for agricultural purposes that has not yet 
been surveyed. The dereliction of Congress in not making sufficient ap- 
propriations for the proper survey of the agricultural lands on the public 
domain greatly retards the settlement and development of the State in 
general and of Idaho county in particular. 

STOCK-RAISING. 

Great as are the resources of Idaho county for agricultural and kindred 
pursuits they are even greater for pastoral purposes. It is in the future 
immense herds of cattle and horses that will range over her beautiful 
plains, mountains, mesas, and meadows, finding everywhere the most 
abundant, nutritious, and natural pasturage the whole year round, and 
accumulating at a rate of increase unparalleled elsewhere, that her wealth 
will roll up in mighty volumes, far eclipsing that ever derived from her 
mines in the past. Already the stock-raising interest has taken its place 
as a bulwark of support and source of revenue to the county, and in the 
future it will easily assume a position of greater prominence, because of 
the boundless area of pasture land in this county. 

THE BITTER ROOT MOUNTAINS. 

The Bitter Root Mountains, or rather the western slope, situated in 
Idaho county, are the least known part of the State. The whole region 
from Coin d'Aleneon the north to the Sawtooth range on the south id 



IDAHO. 73 

practically a, terra incognita. Two Indian trails, the Lolo and Nez Perce, 
are the sole means of communication with the Montana side. This range 
is drained by the Clearwater River, the noblest of all the tributaries of the 
great Snake River. In point of altitude the Bitter Root divide is not lofty ; 
the highest points not exceeding 8,000 feet elevation above sea level. The 
range is densely timbered and possesses some of the finest forests of cedar on 
the continent, besides a very fine and durable growth of pine, fir, spruce, 
and other evergreens. The only residents of this great region are the inhabi- 
tants of the old mining camps of Oro Fino on the north, and of Elk City 
on the southern tributaries of the Clearwater. 

Recent explorations in Elk City mining district have led to the dis- 
covery of two very large and promising quartz belts. One of these is 
situated about fifteen miles east of Elk City, and embraces the Red 
River and Dixie regions. This belt has been traced for a distance twenty- 
five miles in length, and seems to be on a line with the mineral belt of 
Warrens and Alton districts in central Idaho heretofore described. In the 
neighborhood of Elk City this quartz belt is from five to ten miles wide. 
The date of discovery is so recent, and so difficult and expensive are the 
means of transportation in the present isolated condition of the country, 
that but little prospecting has been done to ascertain the real value of the 
district. 

The second belt and the one which promises to eclipse all and anything 
heretofore discovered in this State is situated at a distance of ten miles 
south of Elk City. It is on what is known as the Deadwood range of 
mountains which forms the back-bone between the American and Crooked 
River water-sheds. These two streams with Red River form the south fork 
of Clearwater. The mineral zone is wonderfully well defined throughout 
the Deadwood Range, and exposes more and a better variety and quality 
of surface quartz than any other camp on the continent. The first 
prospects were only discovered in the spring of 1889, and of course but 
little development has been done, owing to the extreme isolation of the 
country. Nevertheless the showing already made promises, in the fullness 
of time, to make the greatest and best quartz mining camp on the Pacific 
coast. The ledges are large and well defined and the ore carries black 
sulphurets, and oxides and pyrites of iron. Assays of samples taken from 
the surface of sixteen different claims in this belt show a wonderful uni- 
formity of value throughout, the highest realizing $30 in gold and $6 in 
silver per ton ; the lowest $2 in gold and $4 in silver per ton. The ores are 
all of the concentrating variety and facilities for their reduction on the 
cheapest scale exist in the neighborhood. The mines overlook the Ameri- 
can River on one side of the divide and Crooked River on the other, and 
the topographical features of the country are such that the ore can be 
mined at a very low figure. It is said that no other district in Idaho 
offers such opportunities for profitable investment in great mining proper- 
ties as the Elk City region, nor such sure and certain returns, or growth 
and value of the same, as these new fields of operation open to investors. 
There are quartz mines in the neighborhood which have been operated 
Successfully for many years by individual enterprise, 



74 



IDAHO. 



The Elk City basin is a large and beautiful park-like valley with wood, 
water, grass, and game in unlimited abundance. When the country 
becomes more accessible it will be a great resort for tourists, sportsmen 
and prospectors. Its elevation is not more than 4,500 feet above tide-water 
and quartz mining operations can therefore be carried on the year round 
without interruption. 



KOOTENAI COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 95,000 acres $ 251,115 50 

Improvements on above 24,275 00 

Improvements on unpatented lands, 32,000 acres 50,855 00 

Town lots 266,331 00 

Improvements on town lots 59,635 00 

Western Union Telegraph Company 13,540 00 

Washington and Idaho Railroad Company 359,580 00 

Spokane Falls and Idaho Railroad Company 40,500 00 

Buildings on same 1,700 00 

Coeurd'Alene Railway and Navigation Company 10,500 00 

Rathdrum Water- works... 500 00 

CoBur d , Alene Water-works 4,000 00 

Chloride and Weber toll road 500 00 

7 saw-mills 14,500 00 

7 shingle-mills 3,500 00 

Railroad stock assessed by county 85,657 71 

Steamer 31,800 00 

Store-ships and hulks 150 00 

Lime-kilns 800 00 

Barges 2,800 00 

Small boats 150 00 

Money on hand 400 00 

Solvent credit 5,346 25 

Goods, wares and merchandise 53,650 00 

Brandies and other liquors 2,000 00 

Harness, robes and saddles 3,500 00 

2,000 cattle, at $12.25 24,500 00 

160 colts, at $20 3,200 00 

2bulls, at $100 200 00 

1,240 American cows, at $25 ." 31,000 00 

240 hogs 1,200 00 

4 thoroughbred horses , at $300 1,200 00 

300 half-breed horses, at $50 15.000 00 

250 American horses 20,000 00 

' 450ponies at$25 11,250 00 

60mules, at$58 3,480 00 

50 oxen, $50 2,500 00 

Machinery 5,000 00 

Store fixtures , 8,000 00 

Furniture 3,000 00 

Lumber 42,000 00 

Musical instruments 3,750 00 

Sewing-machines 1,800 00 

Wagons and Vehicles 14,000 00 

Watches 2,100 00 

Shingles 493 75 

Total valuation 1,480,959 21 



IDAHO. 75 

Kootenai is the northernmost county of Idaho, forming the extreme end 
of what is called the "Panhandle." It is nearly 200 miles long and about 
ninety miles wide. The products consist of vegetables of every descrip- 
tion, cereals, and excellent apples and pears. Here are large bodies of 
fir, tamarack, and pine. Of the latter hundreds of car loads are every year 
shipped east and west to less favored sections in Montana and Washington. 

"A prophet is not without honor save in his own country" will apply 
equally to a region of wonderful resources as to a person. Good water, 
rich mines, fine timber, great water-power, temperate climate, and the best 
of agricultural land are the characteristics of this county ; yet few Eastern 
people are aware that such a favored region exists in the far-away North- 
west — 

Where land is as cheap as the wind that blows , 
And gold in every rivulet flows. 

Not only is this a remarkable region of silver and gold, but the immense 
forests of fir, tamarack, and pine will furnish lumber for ages to come. 
Then there are the beautiful lakes of Pend d' Oreille, Cceur d'Alene, Hay- 
den, Fish, Spirit, and numerous others, all filled with delicious trout, and 
towering mountains, on which graze countless herds of carriboo, deer, elk, 
and mountain goat. Brooks of sparkling ice-cold water go on and on to 
the big Columbia, and finally add their portion to the Pacific Ocean. 

The public are generally familiar with the immense output of placer 
gold from the Cceur d' Alene country in 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, and 1888, and 
still later the thousands upon thousands of tons of high grade silver ore 
from the quartz leads of that district, yet they do not know that in the 
northern part of Kootenai county there is a placer region which has for 
over twenty years yielded golden sands in paying quantities. Sullivan 
Creek, the Kaniskee Lake country, and the whole Pend d'Oreille region 
may be instanced as placer districts which have yielded thousands in the 
past, and are still adding their wealth to the prospector's buckskin purse. 

Then the great quartz-belt, the like of which the world has never seen, 
crops out at irregular intervals in Kootenai county, and even extends into 
British possessions. It appears in the Webber group, Jumbo, Eagle and 
other properties around Chloride, and the Homestake, in Granite Creek 
district. Then it disappears beneath the Pend d'Oreille Lake, and finally 
out again, six miles north of Hope. Next we find it on the Yak, and 
there it goes on grander, stronger, richer, until it reaches the big silver 
leads of the Kootenai Mining and Smelting Company. 

There is no more healthful region in Idaho. Streams, lakes, and 
mountains combine to make natural scenery of unrivaled beauty. Sites for 
homes of the greatest lovliness and comfort are open alike to rich and 
poor. New settlers are constantly coming in, yet still there is room. 

There are as yet few valuable public buildings ; but the county is new, 
and the enterprising settlers are gradually providing schools and other 
accessories of the best civilization. 

The population of Kootenai county is placed by the Federal census of 
1890 at 4,107. Its total assessed value for 1889 was $788,599.57: for 1890 it 
is $1,480,959.21, showing an increase of 86 per cent. In proportion to popu- 



76 IDAHO. 

lation the wealth of Kootenai county heads the list in Idaho. Its growth 
is in railway mileage, agriculture, forest products, and mining. 

The county is attracting attention for many reasons. First is the diver- 
sity of its resources. Its forests will furnish employment for men and 
money for the next hundred years. It has a larger variety of timber than 
other counties of Idaho, and it will become the seat of manufactures on the 
most extensive scale. Its climate and soil facilitate agricultural productions 
of the greatest variety and abundance. It is said to be the best watered 
county for hundreds of miles, as it has large lakes as well as deep and 
broad rivers. Its mines are constantly increasing in value and productive- 
ness. All these resources are combined by easy water and railway commu- 
nication, facilitating exchange of products and giving employment to all 
kinds of labor. 

In natural scenery Kootenai can not be excelled. Thousands of tourists 
find its lakes, rivers, mountains and valleys a perpetual fund of health and 
pleasure. There is no pleasanter spot in the Union during July and 
August — no location better deserving the title of "the hunter's paradise." 
It is on the great northern highways of transcontinental traffic, hence is 
easily and cheaply accessible, and the supplies necessary for human com- 
fort are readily procurable. 

The county government is well managed, towns and villages are growing, 
and the home-seeker and investor from distant States will find in Kootenai 
much to form an enduring attraction. Either through local enterprise or 
through the State emigration bureau facts more precise and in greater 
detail ought soon to be gathered and published concerning this beautiful 
and prosperous county. 

LATAH COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Spokane and Palouse Railway Company $13,950 

Oregon Railway and Navigation Company 22,700 

Improved land patented, 234,258 acres 1,601,145 

Improvements on same 335,082 

Money on hand 140,941 

6,111 stock cattle 54,999 

50 thoroughbred bulls, at $60 3,000 

2,761 milch cows, at $15 41,415 

181 cows and bulls, at $30 5,430 

Store fixtures 3,126 

Furniture '. 9,000 

Goods, wares, and merchandise 149,171 

Harness, robes andsaddles 8,464 

2,181 hogs 2,181 

27 thoroughbred stallions and mares, at$500 13,500 

34 graded stallions, at $200 ~ 6,800 

3,220 American horses, at $40 128,800 

4,120 Spanish horses, at $12 49,440 

Jacks and jennies 1,200 

419,000 feet lumber 1,361 

Saw-logs 51 

109 mules, at $26 2,834 

407 musical instruments 12,210 

51 oxen, at $20 1,020 

903 sewing-machines 4,515 

319 sheep 319 

1,191 wagons and vehicles 17,865 

2,119 cords wood 2,119 

Other personal property 138,505 

Total valuation $2,771,148 



IDAHO. 77 

The county of Latah has an area of about 1,100 square miles, of which 
it is fair to estimate that at least three-fourths can be easily cultivated. 
The lands are high, rolling prairie, covered in their virgin state with a 
dense growth of bunch grass. The soil is a deep black loam, upon which 
immense crops of all the cereals and less tender fruits can be raised. The 
statistics given in the accompanying tables are the most emphatic com- 
ment upon the productiveness of the soil, showing, as they do, that already 
an annual yield of grain and seeds aggregating three and one-third million 
bushels, has been attained. When all the agricultural lands of this county 
are brought under cultivation it may fairly be estimated that the produc- 
tion will exceed the present yield of the entire State. 

Springs of water are abundant, irrigation is unnecessary, and droughts 
unknown. 

The county contains an abundance of timber for all purposes, consist- 
ing of pine, fir, spruce, tamarack, and cedar. The climate is extremely 
healthy and pure, the mortality rate in all diseases being very light com- 
pared with other countries. 

There are three flouring mills within the county limits, whose output is 
about 40,000 barrels per annum. There are eight saw-mills, which produce 
annually 15,000,000 feet of lumber. 

The rapid grawth of this most prosperous county is shown by comparing 
the assessment returns of 1889 and 1890. The total assessed value of the 
property of [Latah county in 1889, w T as $1,203,192; in 1890 it is given as 
above, $2,771,143. This is an increase of 130.3 per cent in one year, a 
growth not equaled by any county in this State, and it is possible not 
equaled by any important county in the United States. 

The foundation of the remarkable prosperity of this county is agri- 
culture. There are 234,258 acres of improved lands for which Government 
patents have been received. The wheat lands have produced 40 bushels to 
the acre, and other grains have had a proportionate yield. The total yield 
of wheat, oats, barley and flax-seed is estimated by a careful authority at 
2,925,000 bushels. The hay product is reported at 35,000 tons. And this 
is but a beginning of the prosperity of Latah county, for it is asserted that 
400,000 acres of the best agricultural land still await cultivation, besides 
192,000 acres of forest land. 

Stock-raising is also an important industry in this county ; the lumber 
business is important ; there are fair mining prospects, and a good begin- 
ning has been made in manufactures. 

During the coming winter a quarter of a million dollars will be ex- 
pended in railroad building in Latah county. The finest brick is made in 
great quantities, and excellent building stone abounds. The lumber products 
of the year ending October 1, 1890, is estimated at 22,000,000 feet. The 
county possesses four flouring mills of 160 barrels' capacity per day. 

At least 22 per cent of the population of this county are Scandinavians, 
a thrifty, intelligent, industrious class. 

Moscow is the county seat of Latah county, and is a wealthy little city 
of 2,600 inhabitants. The county has built a good court house, at cost of 
$22,000 ; private enterprise has provided fair grounds at a cost of $12,000 ; 



78 IDAHO. 

the Grand Army of the Republic has here the only public hall in Idaho, 
held in the interests of that patriotic society. The State has here 
established its University, for which twenty acres of ground have been 
purchased, and the foundation stones of a noble building have been laid. 
Congress has endowed it with a land grant of great value, and the resources 
of the State are pledged to its support. An enlightened public opinion will 
gather around the University of Idaho, and make this city the educational 
crown of the State. 

The county seat is supplied with excellent newspapers, and an intelli- 
gent legal and medical fraternity. There are two banks with ample capi- 
tal, and about seventy -five persons and firms engaged in various lines of 
merchandise. An unusual number of citizens have a State reputation 
based on their intelligent participation in public affairs. The town has 
still good openings for men of means and ability, and the industrial forces 
are fully employed and prosperous. 

Other towns in Latah County are prosperous, and the extension of the 
railway system will develop other towns and communities. The excellent 
climate, the uniform and abundant rainfall, the activity of the people, and 
the opportunities for the extension of agriculture and other interests, com- 
bine to make the future of this part of Idaho exceedingly bright. 

LEMHI COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 12,029 acres «. $ 47,719 

Improvements on above 94,735 

Improvements on unpatented lands 75,850 

Mining claims 15,540 

Money on hand 74,378 

10,506 stock cattle, at $11 115,567 

39 thoroughbred cows, at $50 1,950 

600 graded cows, at $20 12,000 

Farming utensils 8,118 

Saloon fixtures 810 

Furniture 1,000 

Goods, wares and merchandise 46,405 

Harness, robes and saddles 5,000 

321 hogs at $5 1,605 

3 thoroughbred horses, at $500 1,500 

700 graded horses, at $40 28,000 

3,012 American horses at $22.60 78,098 

Jewelry and plate '. 500 

Law library 2,000 

Machinery 36,850 

Musical instruments 940 

Pianos , 1,560 

6,200 sheep 8,600 

360 wagons and vehicles 12,275 

Total valuation $671,000 

The undeveloped resources of Lemhi county are enormous, and for min- 
ing enterprises, no better field can be found. A large number of mines 
have been located and sufficiently prospected to prove their value, but the 
introduction of capital is required to work both quartz and placer mines 
more extensively. Among the prominent mines can be mentioned the 
Kentuck, owned and operated by the Kentuck Mining Company, and the 



IDAHO. 79 

Grunter, owned and worked by the original owners. These mines are 
located at Shoup, and each is equipped with a ten-stamp mill. Large bodies 
of ore are exposed in both mines, and yield in gold from $12 to $25 per ton. 
About five miles from Shoup, on Pino Creek, is located the property of a 
Philadelphia company, comprising the Fissure, Humming Bird, and Ready 
Cash mines, on which a ten-stamp mill has recently been built. The mines 
promise well and the company is sanguine of success. Still above, on Pine 
Creek, is another group — the Richmond, Virginia, Pawnee, Lexington, and 
Uncle Sam. These mines are being opened by the locators, and show large 
bodies of good ore. 

The Dahlonaga mining district comprises all the waters of the North 
Fork of Salmon River and its tributaries. In this district are located many 
valuable properties. Among the prominent ones, and concentrated under 
one management, are the Huron, Oneida, Rose, Sucker, Sucker Extension, 
Diana, Eureka, Key Stone, and Twin Brothers. These mines have been 
extensively developed and large quantities of ore exposed. 

Near the group above mentioned is the Emeralda mine. This property 
has been worked by the locator for years, and is developed to a depth of 
over 400 feet, and in tunnels and drifts nearly 2,000 feet, exposing a large 
quantity of high-grade ore. On this property is a ten-stamp mill and fur- 
naces for roasting concentrates. 

Within this district are other good properties, including the William 
Edwards, Tiger and Rattler, on which tunnels and drifts have been run for 
over 1,000 feet, showing an immense amount of ore of good quality. The 
ore in the Dahlonaga district is nearly all high grade. 

The Salmon City district has a number of meritorious mines, among 
which are the Silver Star, Ranges, Eldorado, Freeman, and California. The 
Silver Star is located about twelve miles north of Salmon City and shows a 
wonderful outcrop of ore, at least from 10,000 to 15,000 tons in sight, and 
assays well in both gold and silver. 

The Ranges mine is developed by tunnels and shafts to an extent of over 
500 feet, and shows a vein of very free-milling gold ore from one to three 
feet in width, which will work $25 per ton. The Eldorado contains a large 
body of ore worth $10 per ton. The Freeman and California are promising 
properties and show large veins of ore worth from $20 to $30 per ton. 

Within the last four years a new district situated about ten miles north- 
west of Salmon City has been named the Eureka district. Within this 
district are the Red Bird, Daisy, Selina, Bird, Anna, and Comet mines. 
Much work has been done on these properties with satisfactory results. 

On Sandy Creek, about twenty miles [southeast of Salmon City, several 
mines have been located within the past three years and are being suc- 
cessfully worked. The ore shows great value, and in arastra tests 
yields as high as $60 per ton. A mill is now being erected on these 
properties. 

In the Leesburgh district are many good locations. Among those which 
have been extensively worked may be mentioned the Haidee, Shoo Fly, and 
Pioneer. On these mines large bodies of ore are exposed, with a value of 
from $10 to $50 per ton. 




80 IDAHO. 

In the Prairie Basin district are the Watch Tower Monument and 
True Blue mines. These are gold and silver lodes, and a large quantity of 
ore is in sight. 

The Yellow Jacket mines, comprising the North and South America and 
extensions, are gold-bearing properties and situated about ten miles 
from Prairie Basin. A ten-stamp mill is running steadily on the property 
at a good profit. 

The Viola mine, located at Nicholia, has been a great lead and silver pro- 
ducer, and several millions of dollars have been taken therefrom. 

In the Texas district are a number of very promising silver mines, from 
which considerable ore has been shipped, yielding from $75 to $300 per 
ton. 

Placer mining is carried on to a considerable extent in this county, 
but owing to a scarcity of water the past two years the output has been small 
compared with former seasons. Placer ground js not only abundant, but it 
is rich. Water can be brought from the large streams to cover thousands 
of acres, and the ground, instead of being worked as at present, from two to 
six weeeks each season, can be worked six months with great profit. On 
Napius Creek and its tributaries, which are within the Leesburgh district, 
over $10,000,000 have been taken, and still there is a vast amount of gold 
remaining, probably much more than has already been extracted, but bed 
rock flumes starting below all the old workings are required. 

The most notable placer mine in the county is on Moose Creek, and 
owned by David McNutt. It is estimated that this property has produced 
over $500,000. The owner of this valuable mine estimates he has several 
million dollars remaining in the gravel to be taken out. The flume 
through which this gravel is washed is seven feet wide by six and one-half 
feet deep. 

The agricultural resources of Lemhi county undeveloped are very large. 
At present about 15,000 acres are under cultivation, or have been cultivated, 
and the amount of tillable land in the county aggregates over 400,000 acres, 
which, with proper facilities for irrigation can nearly all be cultivated. 
As the average yield of crop is large it can readily be seen what an immense 
population Lemhi county is capable of supporting. 

The lumbering resources are also large. A careful estimate by people 
well acquainted with all sections of the county places the standing white 
pine, spruce, and fir timber adapted for lumbering purposes at over 
1,000,000,000 feet. 

From 40,000 to 50,000 forest trees have been planted, including maple, 
ash, walnut, chestnut, and other varieties, from 5,000 to 7,000 apple trees, 
and about 2,000 pear, plum, and cherry trees. 

Although the planting of fruit teees did not commence until a compara- 
tively late date, it is thoroughly demonstrated that fruit raising will boa 
success, as several orchards are now in full bearing. 

Skilled mechanics receive $5 per day; miners and millers, $3.50; wood- 
choppers, $2.50; herders and skilled farm hands, $35 to $45 per month; 
teamsters, $50 to $60; lumbermen, $40 to $50; cooks, $30 to $40. 



IDAHO. 81 

Governor Shoup in his report for 1890 gives the following account of 
Lemhi county : 

During the summer of 1866 a party of prospectors discovered rich placer 
diggings about 17 miles west of the present town of Salmon City, at a place 
called Leesburgh or Salmon River Basin, and an influx of miners was the 
result. The basin was in Idaho County, the county seat of which was at 
Florence, 800 miles distant by the nearest traveled route. Lemhi county 
was admitted by act of the Territorial Legislature in 1869. 



There are a large number of mining districts in the county. Flacei 
mining is still being carried on in Leesburgh Basin, on Moose Creek, and 
some other localities. Placer ground is very abundant. In many cases it 
is located in river bars and hills far from streams. Following is a brief 
notice of some of the most prominent lodes. 

The Kaintuck mine is located in Mineral Hill district about 45 miles 
northwest of Salmon City. Connected with this mine is a fine 10-stamp 
mill, which has been running almost continuously for five years, produc- 
ing very satisfactory results. The company has sufficient ore developed to 
operate the mill for many years. 

Near the Kaintuck is a vein known as the Grunter, containing the same 
quantity and grade of ore. It has a 10-stamp mill and has paid well for 
years. On the North Fork of Salmon River, in Dahlonega district, are 
located the Huron, Oneida, Rose, Keystone, Sucker, Golden Circle, Twin 
Brothers, Bill Edwards, McCarty, Monster, Mammoth, Montgomery, St. 
Joe, and Sucker Extension lodes. Two mills and several arastras are 
employed on the ores of this district. The bullion produced is nearly pure 
gold. On Pine Creek are two mines owned by a Philadelphia company, 
comprising the Fissure, Ready Cash, and Humming Bird mines. The 
company has a 10-stamp mill, with which their ore is crushed. On the 
same creek are the Richmond, Virginia, Pawnee, Lexington, and Uncle 
Sam. All of these show large bodies of good gold ore. Hon. E. S. Suy- 
dam owns a group of mines in this district carrying very high grade gold 
ore. He has a mill operating near the mines and giving satisfactory results. 

There are excellent mines in the Yellow Jacket district. In connection 
with these mines is a 10-stamp mill. Only gold ores are worked in the 
mill. There are hundreds of mines in the Spring Mountain, Texas, Pah- 
samari, and Salmon City districts. A lode was recently discovered in the 
last named district near the city. Its ore assays in gold, silver, and cop- 
per, $450 per ton. The name of the mine is the Orpha. 

At Nicolia, in the Lemhi district, is located the Viola group of mines. 
From 1883 to 1889 it produced largely in lead and silver, 75 per cent of the 
former and 12 to 40 ounces of silver to the ton. During the year last 
named the main body of ore became so reduced that the smelter closed 
down. Development is being pushed and the company will soon have suf- 
ficient ore developed to fire up the smelter. 

On Sandy Creek, in Sandy Creek District, there is a mill working gold 
ores from the mines in that district and producing from $30 to $50 per ton. 



82 IDAHO. 

TOWNS. 

Salmon City is the county seat of Lemhi county. It is pleasantly 
located at the confluence of the Salmon and Lemhi rivers, and was laid out 
in 1867. It is surrounded by a rich agricultural country. It is the supply 
point for the mines of Leesburgh Basin, Gibbonsville, Shoup, North Fork, 
and all other points down the river. The supplies for Leesburgh and sev- 
eral other mining camps are transported upon pack animals, but the camps 
down the river are supplied by means of flat-boats. These are constructed 
at Salmon City. They never return, but the nails used in their construc- 
tion are drawn, and the lumber used for building, mining, or other useful 
purposes. In this way the miners have been supplied with the necessaries 
of life and the material requisite to pursue their business, for many years. 
From its location and natural advantages the town is destined to become 
an important point when the country shall have been connected with the 
outside world by means of railroads, which does not seem to be far in the 
future. 

Junction is 50 miles from the county seat on the stage road between 
Salmon City and Nicolia. It is located near the Lemhi River and sur- 
rounded by a rich agricultural and stock-raising country. It has a good 
hotel, hardware, grocery, and drug store, together with other appurtenan- 
ces of a village. 

Gibbonsville is on the North Fork of Salmon Eiver, about 40 miles 
north of Salmon City. It is surrounded with mines, some of which have 
been worked profitably for years. Two quartz mills are located near the 
town. 

AGRICULTURE. 

As an agricultural region the valleys of the Lemhi, Salmon Eiver, and 
Pahsamari cannot be surpassed. Wheat, oats, barley, and all kinds of 
vegetables return as large a yield to the acre as in the great Snake River 
Valley. There is a good flour mill near Salmon City, where wheat finds a 
ready market at $1 per bushel. A home market is found in the mines for 
oats, barley, and vegetables. Hay is cultivated on a large area, and is fed 
during the winter to the large herds of cattle and horses in the valleys. 
Butter making has been one of the most successful and profitable indus- 
tries for many years. There are many excellent cattle, horse, and sheep 
ranges in the county. 

TIMBER. 

This county is abundantly supplied with timber. It is convenient to all 
points, but more especially so west of the Salmon River. Much of it is of 
great size. Neither this nor several succeeding generations are likely to 
suffer from a scarcity of wood for any of the many purposes to which it is 
applied. 

LOGAN COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 44,337 acres $ 107,786 

Improvements on above 74,300 

Improvements on unpatented land, 41,977 acres 40,737 

Western Union Telegraph Company 10,956 

6 quartz mills 80,700 



IDAHO. 83 

Assessment Values. 
2 concentrators 3,500 

1 sampler 2,000 

2 mining ditches 1,000 

4 irrigating ditches 1,500 

Oregon Short Line Railway Company 1,118,325 

Money on hand 5,875 

7,187 stock cattle , 100,534 

Farming utensils 13,805 

Fire-arms 75 

Store fixtures 1,500 

Furniture 2,200 

Goods, wares and merchandise 50,780 

Harness, robes and saddles 8,831 

286 hogs 1,157 

3,585 cayouse horses 104,207 

Jewelry and plate , 185 

Machinery 21,945 

19 mules 855 

Pianos 2,000 

Railroad rolling stock 50,000 

Sewing machines 1,930 

13,568 common sheep 27,134 

406 wagons and vehicles 7,112 

Total valuation $1,709,928 

Logan county embraces an area of 7,000 square miles, being larger than 
the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. Shoshone is the 
present county seat. 

Mountain and valley and plain interspersed make up the surface of the 
county. On the south, running the entire length of the county is the great 
Snake River Basin. In the northwest is Camas Prairie, a rich agricultu- 
ral region of 1,400 square miles of tillable land. The great Wood River 
Valley contains nearly as much more, and there are several smaller valleys 
branching out from Wood River. The Valleys are surrounded with low- 
lying foot hills and high mountains whose sides provide excellent grazing, 
and in whose strongholds are imprisoned ores and minerals of all kinds. 

With the single exception of the lava beds on the south, the soil of the 
county is most productive, yielding rich treasures to the farmer. Camas 
Prairie is well adapted to wheat growing, and in time may be the granary 
of Idaho. In the Wood River and other valleys the rich sandy loam can 
not be excelled. It not only yields large returns in cereals and hardy veg- 
etables, but fruits of all kinds produce abundantly. The mountains are 
covered to their peaks with the noted bunch-grass, showing a splendid soil. 
Nearly the entire area of the county is susceptible of profitable cultivation. 

The report of the county assessor shows 86,314 acres of improved land, 
but there are still remaining immense tracts desirable for entry. The great 
bulk of this lies in the southern part of the county, and can only be 
redeemed by the mammoth irrigating canals leading from Snake River, 
the cost of these contemplated canals is too great for private corporations 
to undertake ; but now that the attention of the National Government has 
been directed to the matter, it is felt that it will only be a matter of a few 
years until all the land along the Snake River is redeemed. As it is, 
the land affords an extensive winter range for thousands of head of stock. 
Logan county is well adapted to the industry of stock-raising. In the 
winter the mountains and valleys in the northern part of the county are 
covered to the depth of from three to four feet with snow. This melting in 









84 IDAHO. 

the spring months gives abundance of moisture to maintain a luxurious 
growth of grass for grazing herds during the summer months. On the 
approach of winter the herds find a fine winter range along the Snake 
River, where rain falls during the months that the snow falls in the north- 
ern part of the county. By moving stock backwards and forwards from 
one part of the county to the other on the approach of the cliange of sea- 
sons, stock-men feed their stock from one end of the year to the other 
without cutting hay. Cattle, horses, and sheep are the varieties raised. 
Home consumption affords market for a large proportion of the fat cattle 
and sheep. 

Camas Prairie. — This is the most important tract of agricultural land in 
Logan County. It extends east and west on either side of the Malad River, 
a distance of 100 miles. The tillable area is eighty miles long, and has an 
average width of about eighteen miles. Every foot of this tract is worth 
taking up. Over 800 homesteads and pre-emptions have already been filed. 
Sixty pre-emptions have been filed since July 1, 1889, and but a few years 
will elapse until the last acre is taken up by home seekers. The 
prairie is a high plateau at an estimated average altitude of 5,300 feet. 
Unlike many other portions of Idaho, irrigation is unnecessary. Under- 
neath the rich soil, at a depth of but a foot or two, is a stratum impervious to 
the water. So the water that soaks into the soil from the melting snow in 
the mountains remains close to the surface, affording what is called "sub- 
irrigation." The climate on the prairie is delightful. Snow falls about the 
middle of December, remaining on the ground till about ^the middle of 
March. The weather is not cold; the air being high and dry, the cold is 
felt but little. As soon as the snow goes off the rancher can begin his plow- 
ing. The principal crops are wheat, oats, barley, and hay. The average 
yield of wheat is thirty-five bushels, oats sixty, and barley fifty. Hon. Ira 
S. Waring, one of the most extensive farmers on the prairie, raised 8,000 
bushels of grain on 125 acres. Ready market for the grain is found close 
at hand in the mining camps along Wood River. A roller mill a* - 
Bellevue has been unable to buy enough wheat to supply its demand. 
Fruit trees have been set out on all parts of the prairie. All are yet too 
young to bear, but their thrifty condition promises rich fruitage when they 
have the age. Hon. W. Y. Perkins, living at Soldier, has a large orchard 
of plum, apple, and cherry trees. Out of seventy trees set out, but two 
have died. The prairie is a community of homes. Three towns, Soldier, 
Crichton, and Corral, have daily mails, geven school-houses afford educa- 
tional privileges to all. 

The mineral resources of Logan county may properly bo embraced in two 
grand mineral belts, entirely different in their character and product. The 
older or more developed of these two may be described as producing strictly 
argentiferous galena of high grade. This district is known as the Mineral 
Hill mining district, and is located on either side of Wood River, in the im- 
mediate vicinity of Bellevue and Broadford. The second district, familiarly 
known as the Gold Belt, produces gold ores exclusively. Doniphan is the 
center of this second great mineral belt. . 



IDAHO.. 85 

Mineral Hill Mining District. — This lead-silver-bearing belt or zone 
embraces an area that may properly be defined in boundary as being a 
parallelogram two miles wide, extending north and south on either side of 
Wood River, a distance of twelve miles in Logan county, and continuing 
from the northern boundary of the county in its northerly course a distance 
of forty or fifty miles in Alturas county. The center of this rich mineral 
region is located in Galena Gulch, near the town of Broadford, on Wood 
Eiver, where several of the principal mines are situated. The most prom- 
inent of these is the Minnie Moore mine, which has at present the largest 
development of any mine in the county, or in all the Wood Eiver country. 
It has reached the depth of 1,100 feet from which the lowest level is pro- 
jected. 

The output of this mine during the last six years has been an 
average of 3,000 tons of ore per month. The amount of ore produced by 
this mine during the first seven years has been about 252,000 tons, which 
has been concentrated to 50,000 tons, of which 65 per cent has been lead 
and 4,000,000 ounces have been silver. The market value of the lead has 
been in the neighborhood of four cents per pound, making an aggregate 
value of the base metal produced by the mine $2,600,000. At the same 
time the 4,000,000 ounces of silver produced roughly approximated 
$4,000,000, making a total product of $6,600,000 for the seven years the 
mine has been in operation. It is safe to say that 25 per cent of this sum 
has been net profit to the owners. The property is owned in London and 
is operated by Thomas Carmichael, Esq., through his efficient superin- 
tendent, J. M. Kinnear. The plant is unostentatious, but compact, and 
excellently adapted to the operation of a large mine on a thorough and 
economical basis. 

The second mine in importance in this district is the Queen of the 
Hills, half a mile distant from the Minnie Moore. It produces a grade 
and character of ore similar to that of the Minnie Moore. It has been 
w T orked incessantly for the last eight years by the owners, a Salt Lake City 
corporation. It has attained a depth of over 800 feet, and has recently 
completed a three-compartment shaft. The gross output of the Queen of 
the Hills has been $1,800,000, and the vein is as well defined as ever. The 
mine is under the superintendency of Fulton G. Haight. 

Along this belt within the limits of Logan county may be mentioned 
other mines of great promise, the developments of which have not been on 
so large a scale as those of the Minnie Moore and Queen ; but they have 
made valuable shipments of ore without concentration, and now possess 
large bodies of ore. By means of milling facilities these will be made 
mines of great product. Among these are the Michigan Star, Eelief, 
Penobscot, Overland, Pacific Tunnel, Monday, Deadshot and Queen 
Victoria. 

A complete description of the mines of the gold-belt district, in the 
northwest portion of Logan county, would extend this pamphlet too far, 
and an abridged description does not do it justice. The mineral product 
is almost exclusively gold, of which about a quarter million dollars has 



$6 IDAHO. 

been so far extracted. A large expenditure of capital has been made; the 
properties are no longer prospects, but mines ; and a profitable return to 
the courageous men who have risked so much in their development is no 
longer a matter of question. 

Governor Shoup, says : 

" Nothing will permanently hinder the growth of this county. It is 
centrally located, has immense bodies of the finest agricultural lands so 
situated that they can be irrigated at a moderate expense, and the ranch- 
men have a home market which absorbs far more than they can pro- 
duce. 

" Prices for all kinds of farm products are high, and are likely to remain 
so for an indefinite period. They are hampered somewhat by lack of trans- 
portation facilities. A railway across the northern part of Logan county 
is imperatively needed, and the local business alone would make it profit- 
able. Some surveys have been made for an east and west line, directly 
connecting Bellevue and Boise, and I am hopeful that such a railway will 
be constructed. 

"A revival of the stock industry is also probable. Prices of live stock 
are very low and better prices are anticipated. If stock-raising can be 
made profitable anywhere it certainly must be remunerative on the im- 
mense grazing grounds of Logan County. 

"The mining interests have been depressed on account of temporary 
causes now happily disappearing. A general revival of mining interest is 
anticipated in the spring of 1891. This county has been too long a profit- 
able field for mining development to permit the slightest doubt of its 
mineral wealth now. Millions have been mined, and millions more will 
be extracted from the gold and silver ledges of Logan County. There are 
about 300,000 acres of excellent forest land in this county sufficient for fuel 
and lumber during the next generation. About 4,000,000 feet of lumber 
have been manufactured during the past season. 

"The county's financial affairs have been well managed, and without 
burdening the people the commissioners hope soon to be able to erect 
permanent county buildings. * 

" Bellevue is the largest town of this county; has an excellent flouring 
mill, a valuable system of water works, a fine public school building, and 
stores and residences which show the wealth and taste of its enterprising 
inhabitants. By a vote of a considerable majority of the people, the county 
seat has been relocated at this point, but the people of Shoshone have 
asked a hearing in the matter before the courts. 

"Shoshone is the junction of the Oregon Short Line and its Wood River 
branch, and is gaining considerable trade from the constantly growing 
agricultural and grazing regions which surround it. Shoshone has also 
a fine graded school and a substantial school building, excellent churches, 
permanent stores and warehouses, and extensive car repair shops used by 
the railway company. The Camas Prairie towns have not grown largely 
during the past year, but are permanently established as business centers. 



IDAHO. 87 

11 Attention is called to the valuable water-power furnished by the rapid 
flowing Wood River. A line of profitable manufacturing establishments 
ought to be located in the towns and villages bordering this stream, and 
make the broad Wood River Valley as famed for manufacturing as for 
mining, agriculture and stock raising.' ' 

NEZ PERCES COUNTY. 

•Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 100,564 acres $ 623,399 

Improvements on above 76,777 

Improvements on unpatented lands 5,872 

Spokane and Palouse Railway Company 36,790 

Municipal bonds «. 5,960 

Money on hand 26,865 

837 calves .6,536 

342 beef cattle 3,834 

4,014 stock cattle 52,872 

664 colts 8,110 

98 thoroughbred cows 2,513 

458 American cows 7,745 

530 graded cows 10,781 

Farming utensils 3,381 

Fire-arms 879 

Saloon fixtures 1,795 

Furniture 9,520 

Goods, wares and merchandise...., 80,295 

Harness, robes and saddles 5,112 

1,700 hogs 3,440 

48 thoroughbred horses 4,505 

1,924 graded horses 33,281 

1,258 American horses 37,354 

Jacks and jennies 125 

Miscellaneous library 250 

Lumber 680 

Machinery 12,485 

75 mules 1,785 

Musical instruments 798 

Pianos 3,535 

Sewing machines 1,959 

17,196 sheep 25,182 

Wagons and vehicles 11,147 

90 watches 1,107 

Wood : 1,570 

Property not enumerated t. 7,078 

Ferries 1,250 

Total valuation ' $1,079,850 

The Census Bureau returns the population of this county at 2,594. This 
little handful of people must be remarkably industrious and prosperous to 
own property worth $2,500,000, raise 938,000 bushels of grain, 40,000 
bushels of vegetables, and 3,300 tons of hay, besides participating in all the 
other activities of trading, stock growing and manufacturing people. The 
estimate of 5,200 inhabitants, given in report of 1889, is much nearer the 
facts. The most cautious investigator of this question has never placed the 
population of this county below 4,000, and indeed it is hardly conceivable 
that this small number could transact the business of Nez Perces. 

The number of acres of land under cultivation in this county has 
increased 11 per cent in the last twelve months. In the same time final 
proof has been made on 5,190 acres of farm land and 3,580 acres of Govern- 
ment land has been entered. All branches of agriculture and stock-raising 
continue steadily prosperous. The county has few of the features of a 







88 IDAHO. 

frontier settlement, but has a peculiar thrift, steadiness, and permanence 
more generally characteristic of Eastern communities. 

Nez Perces county receives the united flow of the largest rivers of 
Idaho. It is considered the best watered portion of the Northwest. The 
climate is mild and uniform. Its production of fruit increases year by 
year and its quality and variety are not excelled on the continent. The 
best nurseries exist in this county, and their ample supply of young trees 
and vines is sold over four growing States. The last two years have 
demonstrated the fact that grapes of all varieties can be successfully grown 
on the dry hills a*nd ridges facing the Clear Water and Snake rivers, with- 
out irrigation, and there are several thousand acres of this land that will 
receive attention in the near future. 

The fish industry is also destined soon to receive marked attention, as 
the rivers abound with salmon, and the near approach of the railroad will 
soon furnish a market and also furnish cheaper and more rapid transpor- 
tation for all other products. 

The forest lands of this county are estimated at 200,000 acres, and an 
ample supply of lumber of the best quality is thus assured for many years. 
There are also about 150,000 acres of agricultural lands, and 225,000 acres 
of grazing land still undeveloped and unused. In fact a population of 
15,000 persons can easily find room and comfortable homes in Nez Perces 
County. Schools and churches abound. The pioneers of this county 
believe in education. The first academy instituted in Idaho was located 
at Lewiston, the beautiful capital of Nez Perces county, and the same city 
was the first or nearly the first to organize a system of graded schools with 
modern methods and appliances. 

The city of Lewiston is one of the finest trading points in Idaho. Pop- 
ulation 849. It is the gate- way to the supplies required by the immense 
county of Idaho, and through which the products of that great county 
pour. The southern portion of Shoshone county has long procured its 
supplies at Lewiston. Its well capitalized banks, immense grain depots, 
and great wholesale jnerchandise houses draw business from a broad area 
of rapidly developing country. The title to the larger portion of the Indian 
reservation will soon be extinguished, and Nez Perces will then come to the 
front as one of the most inviting fields for emigration known to the North- 
west. The county is well provided with public buildings and its public 
affairs are well administered with wise economy and enterprise. Lewiston 
has a board of trade, which may be addressed for further information. 

Nez Perces has also mining resources as yet undeveloped, but attracting 
more and more attention from practical miners. 



IDAHO. 89 

ONEIDA COUNTY. 

Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 53,132 acres , $ 212,531 

Improvements on the same 114,929 

Improvements on unpatented land 48,902 

Telegraph lines 3,883 

Irrigating ditches 21,560 

Oregon Short Line Railway Company 139,360 

Utah and Northern Railway Company 107,250 

11,297 stock cattle, at $12 135,562 

1,525 colts, at $15.. . 22,875 

37 graded cows, at $16 59,200 

Farming utensils 2,695 

Store fixtures 890 

Furniture 8,050 

Goods, wares and merchandise 25,530 

Wheat 500 

Oats 450 

Harness, saddles and robes 1,625 

3,605 graded horses 116,063 

Machinery 18,510 

Musical instruments 1,575^ 

Sewing machines 5,023* 

18,000 graded sheep 16,225 

Solvent credits 10,500 

Vehicles 13,300 

Total valuation $1,086,990 

The county of Oneida is more closely settled, with possibly one or two 
exceptions, than any other portion of Idaho. It is strictly an agricul- 
tural and stock raising county. It has no mountain ranges of towering 
height, but its hills are of sufficient elevation to receive every winter a 
heavy fall of snow and provide an adequate water supply. 

This county is a noble illustration of what quiet industry, economy, and 
old-fashioned thrift will do. The larger portion of the country is aside from 
the great lines of commerce ; its railroad facilities are limited indeed ; it has 
no great manufactures or mines ; there is but slight rain fall ; yet in face of 
all discouragements more than 100,000 acres of land have been reclaimed 
by irrigation ; small and well-tilled farms have yielded a bountiful return ; 
improved grades of live-stock flourish on its meadows, and year by year 
the number of free-holding families increases and the tax-roll grows. 

A very large proportion of both the earlier and later settlers are Welsh. 
There is no need to erect jails or poor-houses for such men. All they need 
is a government which will protect them from disturbances ; they them- 
selves are orderly and honest. Many in early times were infatuated with 
M/tirmonism and Mormon practices, but their sturdy independence and 
good sense are prompting many withdrawals from that misguided society. 

Reference to the statistics given in the various tables accompanying this 
work shows the rank of this county in the production of grain and live- 
stock. Its growth from year to year is equaled by few other localities. 
There are four flouring mills, all good mills, and the one at Franklin prob- 
ably the costliest in the State. The North Star Woolen Mill, also at Frank- 
lin, has in the past produced excellent yarns. The population of Franklin 
is growing. The place is exceptionally prosperous, and is an aggregation 
of homes and comfort. Preston, Weston, and Samaria are handsome agri- 



90 IDAHO. 

cultural villages. Malad is the county seat. It contains a population of 
about 1,200 and has about thirty business houses. The court house and 
furnishing cost $20,000; the jail $5,000. 

There are still about 6,000 acres of forest land. There are eight saw- 
mills, whose united production last year was 2,500,000 feet of lumber. 

The grazing lands of the county embrace about 500,000 acres. The pres- 
ent area of farming land probably can not be very largely increased without 
the construction of a comprehensive system of storage reservoirs for water. 

OWYHEE COUNTY. 

Assessment values. 

Improved land patented, 15,028 acres $ 54,222 

Improvements on above 42,860 

Improvements on unpatented lands, 40,600 acres 82,650 

250 mining claims, improvements 13,250 

6 quartz mills 15,000 

2 concentrators 20,000 

6 mining ditches 1,850 

210 irrigating ditches 15,000 

Silver City Telegraph Company 810 

Silver City Telephone Company 990 

Money on hand 3,025 

2,200 calves 15,400 

13,875 stock cattle, at $11 152,325 

Farming utensils 11,800 

Saloon fixtures 7,167 

Goods, wares, and merchandise ; 32,000 

Harness, robes, and saddles 7,940 

590 hogs, at $4 2,360 

8,807 American horses 203,481 

75 jacks and jennies 1,500 

Machinery 30,000 

50 mules, at $40. 2,000 

Musical instruments 1,200 

17 pianos 1,870 

58,660 sheep, at $1.60 93,856 

Vehicles and wagons 1,800 

Furniture 9,760 

Total valuation 824,116 

This county lies in the southwest corner of Idaho, and is noted no less 
for its grazing lands than for its wealth in mines and mining industries. 
The Owyhee mines, as they are called, were discovered as long ago as 
1863, about nine miles in a westerly direction from Silver City, on what is 
known as Jordan Creek, said creek having been named after the discov- 
erer of the placer mines thereon. In a short time the prospecting party, 
of which Jordan was a member, discovered War Eagle Mountain and sev- 
eral quartz lodes which have since produced a great amount of money, and 
are being worked at the present time. The lodes so far discovered lie within 
an area of about twenty miles square. They vary in width from two to 
sixty feet, while the ores assay from a trace of gold or silver into 
thousands of dollars. 

This has been one of the greatest gold and silver producing counties in 
the State, having turned into the coffers of the world something like / 
$26,000,000 between the time of the discovery of its mines up to 1876, when, / 
upon the collapse of the Bank of California, capital was withdrawn from / 
the mines, and the life of the camp was left to be sustained by individuals J 



IDAHO. 91 

residing therein. Though capital had been withdrawn the mines still con- 
tinued to yield, which fact finally attracted the attention of outsiders, who 
came in and invested considerable money in the mines, and are now working 
the same. Some of the most prominent of the mines now being worked are 
hereinafter described as follows, to wit: — 

The Oro Fino Ghvup. — This group of eight mines belongs to the Oro Fino 
Mining Company, limited, of London, England, and are being worked under 
the immediate supervision of Mr. Dalby Morkill, the managing director. 
The group is called after the Oro Fino, a mine which has produced in the 
past $1,800,000 and is destined soon to produce as much more. The lode is 
situated on War Eagle Mountain, three miles distant from Silver City. 
The vein is a true fissure varying from two to six feet in width, carrying 
free milling ore of gold and silver. The shaft has reached the depth of 307 
feet while the mine has not been stoped out to that depth. Levels already 
started on the mine before it was purchased by the company now owning it 
have been continued with good results. A lode of very rich ore has been dis- 
covered for a distance of 120 feet in length, reaching upward about 100 feet, 
or as far as developed. At a recent test, ore from this lode milled $225 per 
ton, the product being nearly all gold. Over the mine is a most substantial 
shaft-house with hoisting machinery capable of working the mine to a 
depth of 1,500 feet, while at Silver City is the new Oro Fino twenty-stamp 
steam quartz mill. The Oro Fino group of mines is covered by ten locations, 
patents for which have been applied for. 

Poorman Group, — This group of mines covers an area of about one-half 
a mile in width by one mile in length, and is composed of eight or ten lodes, 
the principal of which being the celebrated Poorman, the Belle Peck, Oso, 
Illinois Central, South Poorman, Silver Cord, and Jackson. All these mines 
have produced more or less, while the Poorman has yielded millions. 
United States patents have been applied for, for this group of mines. The 
property was purchased about one year since by a syndicate of gentlemen 
then living in London, among whom was Mr. J. C. Kemp van Ee, who is 
now residing at Silver City, and managing the property. Although he has 
had charge of the same but a short time it has yielded handsomely, and is 
now being developed under his direction by cross-cuts, tunnels, and drifts. 
He has opened up a rich body of ore in the Oso, which shows free gold in 
considerable quantity. In the Illinois Central he has opened up about 500 feet 
in the length of pay ore by sixty feet in depth. How much deeper the chute 
extends can only be determined by the drill and pick. The Poorman mine 
will be tapped by a tunnel run from the Belle Peck mine at a depth of 
about 700 feet, and this once celebrated lode will then be worked through 
the Belle Peck tunnel. 

Stormy Hill. — This property is situated southeast of the Poorman lode, 
and belongs to Mr. A. J. Sands, Owyhee county. The lode averages 
about three feet in width, and has a shaft on it ninety feet deep. Levels have 
Deen run each - . ^y from the bottom of the shaft in good ore. The ore is 
free milling and is easily extracted from the mine. 



92 IDAHO. 

Empire. — This lode is among the best developed mines in the camp, hav 
ing a shaft sunk on it to the depth of about 700 feet, with a man-way from 
top to bottom. Drifts are run on the vein every hundred feet from the sur- 
face to the bottom of the shaft, making in all seven levels, while from the 
bottom of the shaft a drift has been run north for about 700 feet. There is a 
great amount of ore in this vein that will pay handsomely over all expenses 
of extracting and reduction. A good ore house and hoisting works stand 
over the mine, the machinery being in perfect working order. The prop- 
erty belongs to Hon. J. I. Crutcher and Mr. J. L. Crutcher. 

Mahogany is the property of Mr. T. Regan. Has been developed to a 
depth of 800 feet by shaft, and drifts run on the load Vein averages about 
two feet in width, and has produced $400,000. 

Morning Star is situated about one quarter of a mile north of Silver City, 
and is owned by Messrs. Stoddard, Townsend, and Smith. Lode averages 
two feet in width, and has shaft sunk to a depth of 225 feet. Mine has 
produced about $750,000. 

Black Jack. — This property is owned by W. H. Deevey, of Silver City. 
Lode, 1,500 feet in length by 100 feet in width. Has been worked to a depth 
of about 200 feet by shaft and tunnel. Stopes have been run and ore 
extracted which has yielded over $300,000. The vein will average four feet 
in width, incased in porphyry. The ore is free milling, carrying gold and 
silver. The property is a valuable one, and can be worked to a great 
advantage by tunnel from Blue Gulch, which would cut the mine nearly 
1,000 feet deep. This lode is situated on Florida Mountain. 

Seventy-nine, owned by W. B. Knott, is situated northwest of the Black 
Jack. Has been developed by cross-cut and drifts, showing a vein that 
will average six feet wide of ore that will run from $20 to $50 per ton. 
There are thousands of tons of ore in sight, which only need extracting and 
reduction to place the owner beyond all financial wants. 

Phillips & Sullivan is owned by Isaac Phillips and J. F. Sullivan, 
of Silver City. The lode location is 1,500 feet in length by 600 feet in 
width. The vein averages three feet in width. Has been worked for 
about one year by shaft and drifts, and has produced $40,000 in gold 
bullion. 

Wagontown District. — The mines in this district were discovered in 1876 
by J. W. Stoddard, who, in company with others, located the Stoddard lode, 
the first mine recorded in that district. 

The lode is located in a northerly and southerly direction; is 1,500 feet 
in length by 600 feet in width. Has been opened by tunnel, showing lode 
eight feet wide; ore free milling, yielding on an average $60 per ton. It is 
the property of Messrs. T. Regan and C. M. Hays, and is now being 
prospected by Hon. J. P. Jones and Mr. T. Regan. 

Wilson. — This is probably the largest and richest mine in Idaho. It lies 
northwest of the Stoddard, is in the same formation, and is worked by a 
tiross-cut run to cut the lodes, and then by drifts. The property is 
owned by Christian and Louis Wahl, of Chicago, and Capt. J. R. De Lamar, 



IDAHO. 93 

of De Lamar, Owyhee county. There are three veins in this location, 
though from the formation some would call them all one, or a mountain of 
quartz mineralized. The first is called Voshay, being a lode about fifteen 
feet in width ; the second, the Wilson, thirty feet in width ; and the third 
the Seventy-seven, it being seventy-seven feet in width. The veins have 
all been run on and opened up in good shape, showing, it is estimated, over 
300,000 tons of ore that will mill from $15 to $200 per ton. The ore is easily 
extracted, two men being able to keep a twenty-five stamp mill running. 
Indeed only about one-half the ore extracted is crushed, the remainder 
being simply screened and thrown into the pans. The bullion produced is 
high grade in gold. A portion of one of the lodes named produces silver 
ore that runs over $500 per ton per car load. This character of ore is being 
shipped almost daily to the railroad, distant from the mine about forty- 
eight miles, where it is loaded on the cars and shipped to Denver for reduc- 
tion. Captain De Lamar has erected a ten-stamp mill on Jordan Creek, 
about half a mile distant from the mine, which will soon start up on the 
gold ore from the mine. He is also constructing a tramway with which to 
run the ore from the lode to the mill. 

The latest information from the mines at De Lamar is of the most 
encouraging character. Development work has gone on systematically and 
at great cost, and the ore now in sight has been estimated worth $6,000,000. 
Mills with improvements of the best and latest invention have been erected. 
It is said that $2,000,000 have been offered for the De Lamar mining system 
and declined. The greatest need of the place now is railway communica- 
tion, to take ore out and bring in timber and mining supplies. 

This locality, which two years ago boasted but a trifling number of 
wretched cabins, now has a hotel which would be a credit to a substantial 
town, a school-house, stores and numerous comfortable dwellings. No one 
would be surprised to see 2,500 people at De Lamar within one year. The 
present output of the De Lamar mines, is said to average $60,000 per month, 
or $700,000 per year. A correspondent says : 

"De Lamar spent three years in opening this property, and while 
building his extensive surface improvements, which includes a modern 
80-ton pan amalgamating mill, for the last twelve months since production 
began, he has with this comparatively small plant taken out $750,000 in 
gold and silver, and claims that when the north and south railroad is 
assured, so that he can supply himself with all necessaries for a larger 
plant (including vast quantities of mining timber and fuel), he will at once 
begin the erection of works that will reduce 500 tons of ore each twenty- 
four hours, which at $20 per ton value saved will give him a daily produc- 
tion of $10,000 per day, or $300,000 monthly, or $3,600,000 per annum- 
equal to the grandest mines in mining history." 

Sommercamp Group of Mines. — This group of mines lies west of the 
Wilson, and is owned by Mr. W. F. Sommercamp, Sr., of Silver City. 
Unlike many other mine owners in this and other districts, Mr. Sommer- 
camp has worked his mines with the view of opening them up and showing 
the value of his property. He has been about six years in running cross- 
cuts and drifts on lodes found, and as a result can show thousands of tons 



94 IDAHO. 

of fair milling ore, some of which will assay into the thousands of dollars. 
The lodes in this group are all large and well defined. 

In speaking of Owyhee county Governor Shoup remarks : 
"The increasing mineral wealth of this county is likely to ohscure its 
agricultural standing. Its growth in this regard is shown by the fact that 
in 1889 but 4,685 acres had been patented, while in 1890 15,028 acres are 
reported. There are about 18,000 head of stock cattle in this county, about 
15,000 range horses, and 75,000 sheep. The grazing lands are almost limit- 
less in extent and the melting snows of the Owyhee range nourish a 
prolific growth of native grass. The irrigating system has been extended 
under the direction of intelligent capitalists, and it is probable that the 
area of cultivated lands will be increased 100 per cent during the next 
year. The ranches are large and well managed. But a small portion of 
the waters of Owyhee county have yet been utilized for purposes of irriga- 
tion and investors will find this a profitable field for investigation." 

SHOSHONE COUNTY. 

Assessment values. 

Coeur d'Alene Railway & Navigation Company $182,150 

Washington & Idaho Railway Company 192,726 

Ditches 60,000 

Telephone company 2,600 

Patented land 13,404 

Unpatented land 20,000 

Improvements on above 450,000 

Improvements on mining claims 100,000 

Telegraph lines , 1,600 

4 quartz-mills 22,000 

10 concentrators 304,000 

1 sampler 8,350 

2 smelters , 2,500 

Money 50,000 

109 beef cattle 2,650 

235 stock cattle 3,525 

170 American cows 5,100 

Farming utensils 2,000 

Fixtures 10,000 

Franchises 11,000 

Goods, wares, and merchandise 237,000 

Harness, robes, and saddles 1,000 

38 tons of hay 760 

129 hogs 800 

112 horses at $90 10,080 

384 Spanish horses, at $30 11,520 

Jewelry and plate 2,000 

Law library 1,000 

Lumber 10,000 

Machinery 60,000 

30 mules, at $75 2,250 

Musical instruments 3,100 

5 oxen 200 

Pianos 3,050 

75 sewing machines 1,500 

450 common sheep 900 

63 wagons and vehicles 3,045 

1,700 cords of wood 3,400 

Other property not enumerated 280,892 

Total valuation $2,096,161 

That portion of Shoshone county ]ying west of the Bitter Root Moun- 
tains and north of the summit of the range dividing the St. Joseph River 
from the Coeur d'Alene River, and extending to the easterly line of 



IDAHO. 95 

Kootenai county, comprises what is known as the Cceur d'Alene mining 
country, which has become famous throughout the entire ' country for its 
mineral products. It is heavily timbered with pine, tamarack, and cedar, 
and traversed by splendid mountain streams, affording unlimited water- 
power for all purposes in connection with the treatment of ores. 

In the six years since the original discovery of gold in this section its 
growth has been marvelous, and the camp now contains upwards of eight 
thousand people. The gold mining is almost entirely confined to the North 
Fork of the Cceur d'Alene River, which traverses this section, and its 
tributaries, Eagle, Pritchard, and Beaver creeks. 

During the last six years the placer mines on these creeks have 
produced upwards of $2,500,000 in placer gold, although the mines have 
been worked only by small parties of men working with primitive imple- 
ments and old-time methods. During the last year, however, there have 
been put in operation upon Pritchard and Eagle Creeks hydraulic mining 
plants, representing an investment of upwards of $200,000, which have 
been most successfully operated, and have realized the investors profits far 
beyond their expectations. The mountains on either side of these gulches 
are covered with what is called " old wash," being deposits of gravel, 
probably prehistoric river channels, in which large quantities of gold are 
found. The attention of capital and labor is now being largely directed 
toward these old river channels, and the waters of the neighboring lakes 
and rivers are being conducted to such points as will enable their richness 
to be fully tested and developed. 

In the midst of these extended placer fields there are also many valua- 
ble quartz gold mines, some of which have been extensively opened and 
worked, and have been steady producers of gold bullion during the past 
year, yielding a product of upwards of $100,000, and with increased facili- 
ties for treatment of the ores will add largely to this yield in the coming 
year. 

There are three stamp mills on Pritchard Creek and several arastras 
engaged in crushing and treating the ores from these mines. In addition 
to these mines that have been already opened, there are many valuable 
prospects that need only the capital and labor necessary to develop them 
to place them in the list of producing and profitable mines. 

This wide region of mountain and gulch, covered with dense growths of 
pine, tamarack, and cedar, was comparatively unknown until five years 
ago, when the discovery of placer gold by Pritchard and his associates in 
the gulch now bearing his name excited the stampede which quickly popu- 
lated the north and south forks of the Cceur d'Alene River with from 4,000 
to 5,000 hardy men. In 1884 the first discovery of galena was made on 
^afion Creek, a tributary of the South Fork, and the Tiger and the Poor- 
lan mines then located have since become famous for the volume and 
alue of their product, and are now the nucleus of the flourishing town of 
3urke. Soon after was discovered the Bunker Hill and Sullivan mines on 
Tilo Gulch, also a tributary of the South Fork, about twelve miles below 
le mouth of Canon Creek. This last find was of such extraordinary 
nagnitude and richness as to awaken the interest of Montana capitalists 



96 IDAHO. 

in the country, and the ensuing year they constructed a narrow gauge 
railroad from Lake Cceur d'Alene to these mines, and began hauling their 
ore to the concentrating works at Wickes, Mont. This was the entering 
wedge which opened the marvelous treasures of the Cceur d'Alene to the 
world, and enabled it in less than three years to become what it is to-day> 
the greatest lead producing region of the United States. 

The development and working mines of the Cceur d' Alene at the present 
time are mainly on the South Fork and its tributaries. There are ten con- 
centrators, of an average capacity each of 100 tons daily, now in operation 
along this line. Three of them, the Bunker Hill and Sullivan, the Emma 
and Last Chance, and the Stemwinder, being at Wardner. On Canon 
Creek there are five : The Poorman, the Tiger, the San Francisco, the Gem 
and the Granite ; while the town of Mullen, five miles west of the Montana 
line, has two, the Hunter and the Morning. These mills produce 70,000 
tons of concentrates per annum, containing an average of thirty ounces of 
silver and 60 per cent of lead, to which must be added not less than 45,000 
tons of selected ore sacked and shipped from the mines, averaging forty 
ounces of silver and 60 per cent of lead ; and this entire output, aggregating 
a cash, value of $9,030,000 at the market sale of ninety cents for silver and 
four cents for lead averages the mine-owners of the Cceur d' Alene, over all 
expenses of freight, treatment and percentage of loss, a clear profit of from 
$25 to $30 per ton ; and the present development of other properties on the 
same mineral belts assure the belief that another two years will double the 
number of mills and production of ores and concentrates. 

Along the South Fork, in consequence of this great output of min- 
eral wealth, have grown a number of beautiful and flourishing towns, 
some of which will quickly assume metropolitan proportions with the 
completion of the railroads now building, and which by the shorten- 
ing of distance and the unusually attractive and picturesque features 
of the county, will bring much of the transcontinental travel through 
the valleys of the Cceur d'Alene, and at the same time afford such 
increased facilities for transportation as will greatly increase the 
product of the mines now operating, and encourage the full de- 
velopment of the thousand valuable mineral prospects now lying dor- 
mant. 

The North Fork of the Cceur d'Alene Kiver and its tributaries are not 
less valuable and promising in mineral prospects, and a branch line of 
the Washington & Idaho Kailroad is now located from the main line at 
Kingston to the head of Beaver Creek. It will undoubtedly be built next 
year for a distance of thirty miles. There it will tap the product of what 
is known as the Sunset Group of. mines, a galena deposit of such magni- 
tude as warrants the estimate now made of an output of not less than 700 
tons per day from present developments. From the mouths of Beaves 
and Pritchard Creeks the North Fork trends to the north for about twenty 
miles, and heads in the southerly slope of the Cceur d'Alene Mountains , 
opposite Lake Pend d'Oreille. It is an unexplored region, but the feyv 
adventurous prospectors who have penetrated its pathless forests hav^e 
brought out many specimens of mineral equal in richness to any yet fonnO 



IDAHO. 97 

in the country, and it is believed from this and from its geological forma- 
tion and position that when the Upper North Fork is thoroughly explored 
it will prove as prolific of wealth as any other mining district of the Cceur 
d'Alene. 

Pritchard Creek, which empties into the North Fork about two miles 
above the mouth of Beaver Creek, runs for about fifteen miles through the 
gulch containing the immense placer deposits which first attracted atten- 
tion to the country. Over $2,000,000 has been gathered from this ground 
by scattered and occasional labor on the rim rock and in shallow gravel, 
by small parties of men working with primitive implements and old-time 
methods ; but all attempts to reach the bed-rock depths of the main gulch 
and the bottom of the Old "Wash channel stretching for miles along the 
hills, were failures, and they remained untouched until two years ago, 
when a company of New York capitalists, after a long and careful expert 
exploration of the ground, and after securing mining claims of twenty 
acres each for miles, began the construction of an extensive bed-rock flume 
on one of the side gulches of Eagle Creek, which is tributary to Pritchard. 
Early last spring, with all of the latest appliances to hydraulic power, and 
with every known improvement to the methods of catching gold, they 
began work which resulted this fall in a sum total so far beyond all expec- 
tations that they are now preparing for the construction of a substantial 
and expensive system of flumes and ditches, with the view of a steady 
pursuit of this profitable work as their permanent business investment for 
years to come. 

Another company of Eastern men are now investigating the pros- 
pect for a more extensive enterprise of like character along the main 
channel of Pritchard Creek, requiring a bed-rock flume of more than 
eight miles in length ; and there is no doubt that during the coming year, 
with these and other organized efforts by men of means, the vast but 
stubborn placer fields of the North Fork will be compelled to give up their 
golden store. 

TOWNS OF SHOSHONE COUNTY. 

The town of Wallace, with a population of 878, is situated in a beauti- 
ful basin of the South Fork Valley at the junction of Nine Mile, Placer, and 
Canon creeks, and is the supply depot of the great mining interests of these 
gulches. It is the railroad transfer for all the tributaries of the Upper 
South Fork, and has many well-supplied and substantial business houses in 
every branch of trade. It has two first-class hotels, several societies, good 
schools, and an able and enterprising tri- weekly paper, The Wallace Free 
Press. Wallace will more than .double its population during the coming 
year from the fact of its selection as the division terminus of the through 
railroad now building toward Missoula, Mont. 

Mullan, seven miles east from Wallace, has a natural location of great 
beauty, and is one of the coming towns of Cceur d'Alene. It is well built, 
has two fine hotels, a public school, and a weekly newspaper. The Mullan 



98 IDAHO. 

Tribune, This promising place has a population of about 800, and is the 
center of a mining district equal in extent and richness to any in the 
country. 

Wardner, in Milo Gulch, about two miles from the South Fork, is the 
business heart of the great group of working mines which have gradually 
opened in that district since the first discovery of the famous Bunker Hill 
and Sullivan. It is a flourishing town of 800 people, with schools, socie- 
ties, fire department, and an excellent weekly mining journal and news- 
paper, The Wardner News._ Its present population will largely and quickly 
increase when the railroad now building affords transportation for the full 
output of its mines. 

The town of Burke, on Canon Creek, nine miles from the South Fork, 
has about 700 population, mainly supported by the Tiger and Poorman 
mines. It has a first-class hotel, water- works, fire department, and 
schools. 

About four miles below in the same canon is the town of Gem, with 200 
people, around the newly-started works of the Gem and San Francisco 
mines. 

At the mouth of Milo Gulch, two miles below Wardner, are the towns 
of Milo and Wardner Junction with an aggregate population of *500. Both 
of these places are enterprising business points, deriving their main sup- 
port from the Wardner group of mines. 

The town of Kingston, at the junction of the North and South Forks of 
the Cceur d'Alene River, has about 200 residents. 

During the year 1890 there have been discovered, in addition to the 
gold mines, valuable deposits of galena ores near the town of Raven, at 
the head of Pritchard Creek, which, although only discovered during the 
summer, have already begun to ship their ores to market, and promise fair 
during the next year to be large producers. A correspondent says : 

" The great reputation of this country, however, has been based upon 
the product of its lead-silver ores, which are found principally upon the 
South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River and its tributaries, Milo, Nine 
Mile, and Canon Creek. On these gulches there are upwards of thirty 
mines thoroughly developed and steadily producing silver-lead ores, which 
yield an average of about 30 ounces of silver per ton and 60 per cent of 
lead. A portion of the ores from these mines is of a character that can be 
shipped to the smelters without preliminary treatment, while a greater 
portion of it is what is called concentrating ores, or ores that by the con- 
centration are reduced about S}4 or 4 tons into 1, and these mines produce 
about 90,000 tons of concentrates per annum, and about 65,000 tons of 
selected ore of the quality above named. 

" There are in operation in this part of the camp eleven concentrators 
of an average capacity each of 100 tons daily. The value of the ores pro- 
duced from these mines, with silver at $1.15 per ounce and lead at $5.75, 
will aggregate to the mine owners over all expenses of freight, treatment, 
and percentage of loss, a clear profit of from $45 to $55 per ton. And from 



IDAHO. 99 

the present development of other properties on the same mineral belts it is 
safe to predict that in another year the products of these mines will be in- 
creased by one-half ." 

In addition to this section of the camp are the mining properties on 
Sunset Mountain, lying midway between the North and South Forks, 
which have not yet been reached by railroad facilities, but which have in 
sight sufficient bodies of ore, well developed, to insure an increase of the 
product of the entire camp by at least one-half as soon as the facilities for 
transporting these ores to market are complete. 

Two lines of railroad traverse this county from east to west, giving it 
direct communication with the outside world over both the Union Pacific 
and Northern Pacific railroads. Along the South Fork of the Coeur 
d'Alene River, in consequence of these great deposits of mineral wealth, 
have grown a number of beautiful and flourishing towns, some of which 
are now assuming metropolitan proportions, and which, because of the 
shortening of distances and the unusually attractive picturesque features 
of the country, will bring much of the transcontinental travel into the 
valleys of the Coeur d'Alenes, and the railroads now afford such increased 
facilities for transportation as will greatly increase the products of the 
mines, and encourage the full development of the thousand valuable min- 
eral prospects now lying dormant. These mines are located in groups 
over a section of the country about 25 miles square, and near each group 
of developed mines there has grown up a flourishing mining town. 

Murray, the county seat of Shoshone county, in which this mining 
camp is located, is on Pritchard Creek, about six miles from its junction 
with the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River. It is in the heart of the 
gold belt, and is surrounded with the gold-bearing quartz leads and placers 
referred to. 

The town has a population of about 700, chiefly supported at 
present by the placer diggings and quartz mines in its vicinity. It 
has a public water supply, fire department, a lodge of the Masonic Order, 
and one of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and a flourishing 
post of the Grand Army. It has also a lively weekly newspaper, the 
Coeur d'Alene Sun, and has a future of unquestionable and permanent 
prosperity. 

WASHINGTON COUNTY. 



Assessment Values. 

Improved land patented, 48,022 acres $ 463,520 

Improvements on above 92,715 

Mining claims 16,500 

Oregon Short Line Railway Company 182,650 

Telegraph lines 1,965 

2quartz mills 12,000 

1 smelter 1,000 

1 mining ditch 3,000 

3 irrigating ditches 5,400 

Money on hand 1,400 

7,000 stock cattle at $11.50 90,850 

Farming utensils ,.... 5,400 

Furniture 6,600 



100 I D A H O , 

Assessment Values. 

Goods, wares and merchandise $ 24,750 

Harness, robes and saddles 3,000 

3,000 hogs at $4 12,000 

Mercantile establishments 2,400 

3 thoroughbred horses at $400 1,200 

5,000 graded horses at $25 125,000 

25 mules at $40 1,000 

Machinery 5,000 

Musical instruments 2,556 

30,000 common sheep at $2 60,000 

450 wagons and vehicles 4,500 

Total valuation $1,124,406 

While this county has not advanced as rapidly as its friends desired and 
expected, yet it can truly be said that it has never lost a step once gained. 
The great value of its mines has been conceded by experts from every part 
of the country ; the Seven Devils copper district has a continent- wide rep- 
utation, and new mineral discoveries are made year by year. 

The agricultural resources of this county are confined, so far as developed, 
to the valley on the east bank of Snake Eiver and the valleys of Weiser 
Eiver and its tributaries. The former is twenty-eight miles long, through 
which runs the Oregon Short Line Division of the Union Pacific Railway, 
with depot at Weiser, and for this twenty -eight miles it will average three 
miles in width. Most of this land lies so high that it will not produce 
crops without irrigation. When irrigated it proves very productive and is 
adapted to all kinds of grain (including corn) and every kind of fruit and 
berry grown in the temperate zone. No ditches have been taken from Snake 
River to irrigate these lands. What irrigation has been done is from the 
waters of the Payette and Weiser rivers and at this date the ditches are 
not of sufficient capacity to irrigate more than one-twentieth of the land. 

It is true, however, that the Weiser will not any season afford sufficient 
water to irrigate all the land, unless a system of storage is adopted. This 
river runs through the entire length of the county for about 100 miles or 
more, and its beautiful, fertile valleys from their shape would seem to have 
been a chain of small lakes at some time. They are named, commencing at 
the mouth of the river as follows : Lower Weiser, Middle Valley, Salubria, 
Indian Valley, Council Valley, and the Meadows. They vary little in 
size. 

These valleys during the growing season require less irrigation as you 
ascend the river, and even in very dry seasons fine crops have been raised 
in Salubria Valley and the Meadows without irrigation. In the latter val- 
ley, the highest on the stream, a peculiarity exists that is worth mention- 
ing. It is found that the earth is warmer than the surrounding air, as 
grass will be found growing under the snow, and as fast as the snow melts 
away grass from four to six inches long is seen, and from this fact the peo- 
ple living in the valley give it as a reason that their vegetables are not 
blasted by the frosts as in other valleys lying below them. There is not 
much grain raised in this county, for the reason that there is no profit in it 
in the upper valleys on account of the wagon transportation required to get 
it to any outside market, and the lower valleys have an insufficient water 
supply for irrigation. There were a few car-loads of wheat and barley 



IDAHO. 101 

shipped out of the county last year, but it is doubtful if any will be shipped 
this year, as much of the acreage sown to grain was cut for hay. The mines 
being as yet undeveloped, the home market for agricultural products is very 
limited. As a consequence the farmers convert their grain and hay into 
such products as will bear long transportation. Several car-loads of horses 
have been shipped this season. 

Many are turning their attention to raising hay exclusively, and for this 
purpose alfalfa is taking the lead of all other grasses. There are only two 
flouring-mills in the county, one at Weiser and one at Salubria. Mr. John 
Cuddy, the owner of the last named, has machinery on the way to 
convert it from the burr to the full roller process. Considerable attention 
is now being paid to raising fine horses. A Mr. Thompson, of The Dalles, 
Oregon, has purchased a tract of land a few miles above the town of Weiser, 
and at considerable expense is fitting it up with stables and track to fit his 
horses for the turf. He has now at his stables some of the finest blooded 
horses in the West. Quite a number of Percheron stallions (some ten or 
fifteen) have been brought into the county and sold the past year. The 
tributaries of the Weiser Eiver are settled to quite an extent, the same 
being from one to two farms wide along the streams and from ^ve to fifteen 
miles long. Most of them produce fine crops, and a few are set to fruit and 
berries and supply the home demand. There are a number of hot springs 
in the county. 

The agricultural towns of the upper portion of Washington are quite 
prosperous. Salubria is becoming a handsome and well ordered place. 
The farmers have thrashed 245,680 bushels of wheat this year, 150,000 
bushels of oats, and 20,000 bushels of, rye. They have raised 40,000 bush- 
els of potatoes and proportionate amounts of other vegetables. They have 
stacked 83,000 tons of hay. The water system is constantly being enlarged 
and perfected, so that agriculture is beyond the accidents of drouth and 
storm. 

The county has four flouring mills capable of producing 250 barrels of 
flour per day. It has twelve saw-mills, which cut 2,000,000 feet of lumber 
his year, and four shingle-mills, which cut 180,000 shingles. There are 
two quartz-mills and two smelters in Washington county ; 20,000 tons of 
gold ore, and 10,000 tons of silver ore have been marketed. The produc- 
tion of silver is estimated at $100,000; gold, $25,000, and copper, $22,500. 

Weiser, the county seat, has shared the general prosperity of the State 
of Idaho. The county authorities have provided a new court house at a 
cost of $16,000 ; the Weiser public school building has been completed at a 
cost of $7,000, and the Odd Fellows' hall cost $7,000. New additions have 
been platted and many intelligent men have invested liberally in this 
place. 

This is the railway freighting and distributing point for a district 75 
miles broad and 150 miles south to north. The altitude of Weiser is but 2,340 
feet above sea-level. It is a handsome, healthful, and prosperous town of 
901 inhabitants. It has many tasteful residences and substantial busi- 
ness houses and is the center of a fruit-growing district of great promise. 



102 IDAHO. 

The town is incorporated and has an active board of trade, to which 
inquirers are advised to apply for detailed information. 

MINING. 

In common with every mountain county in the State, Washington has 
her valuable mines, containing gold, silver, copper, and lead. They are 
but partially developed, and until within the last three years were not 
much thought of. They are now gradually coming into prominence, 
and bid fair to rival the best in the State. At the present time there 
are three mining districts, viz : Washington, Heath, and Seven Devils. 

Washington district comprises the following silver lodes, which are now 
attracting attention: Black Hawk, Black Maria, Daniel Boone, Egan 
Group, Traveler, Muldoon, Kit Carson, Atlanta and some others, which 
are very little more than prospects. Those named have been partially 
developed, and for the amount of labor done show as much ore in sight as 
any mines in the United States. The valuable minerals of this district are 
silver, copper, and iron. The principal claims are taken upon lodes 
carrying silver, and are located in the vicinity of a mining town named 
Mineral. The lodes may be briefly described as a system of nearly parallel 
veins, whose strike is a little north of east, and whose dip,, which varies 
from 30 to 70 degrees, is toward the north. Northeast they vary from two 
feet or less in thickness to twenty or even thirty feet. The grade of the 
ore, although generally esteemed low, is not so when compared with other 
silver camps. - The concentrating ore being the undecomposed sulphurites 
in a porphyritic gangue are very abundant, and average twenty ounces per 
ton. Much of the oxidized vein matter will produce from thirty to forty 
ounces of silver to the ton. 

There are three quartz-mills in the district, of a daily capacity of thirty- 
five tons, and one smelter of thirty-five tons capacity. Two of the mills 
named have been erected this season ; one on the Daniel Boone, by Biddle 
& Lang, and the other on the Egan Group, by a company formed in Port- 
land, Oregon. The population of the district is now about 200, a majority 
of whom are employed in or about the mines last above named. 

Heath District. — The lodes of this district are large, well defined 
veins, carrying little if any valuable minerals except silver. The ores are 
of a lower grade than those of Washington district and far more rebellious 
in character; all have to go through the roasting process to be worked 
successfully. The names of the claims developed sufficiently to determine 
that they are true mines are the Belmont, Greenhorn, Buckeye, Climax, 
Hercules, Mary Ellen, and El Dorado. There is a ten-stamp mill on the 
Belmont, owned by the Heath Mining Company. They have expended 
not less than $75,000 on the mill and mine. There are two other small 
mills in this district that might be termed prospecting mills, although one 
has a roaster and amalgamating pan attached. The name of the camp 
where the mines are located, as also the post office, is Ruthburg. The 
population is about twenty. 



IDAHO. 103 

Seven Devils District. — This, the greatest mineral belt of the Nine- 
teenth Century, was first discovered by Levi Allen, about twenty-five 
years ago, and at that time, he located what is known as the Old Peacock 
the phenomenal surface mine of the world. The name is derived from 
seven jagged, rough, inaccessible peaks, just north of the camp, which 
frown down upon it as though forbidding man to touch the treasures 
below. Allen had every confidence in its most wonderful value, and 
every year traveled nearly two hundred miles, fifty miles of this over a 
rough mountain trail ; and alone, far from the haunts of men, in this 
secluded mountain dell, he did his assessment work as required by law. 
And here, entirely alone, $30,000 to $40,000 in gold was taken from the 
gulches around the great Peacock Lodge. And at a later day, J. Cooper 
chipped off a piece of ore carrying free gold which he sold for $20. 

A new town called Helena has recently been platted and a post-office 
established, and Moses Fuchs appointed postmaster. The town site is 
located on a level bench and contains only twenty acres, as more land 
could not be secured on account of the rough and uneven nature of the 
district. 

The town has a very thrifty appearance, though this would follow 
almost as a matter of course, as it is located within one hundred yards 
of the Old Peacock mine, which is conservatively estimated to have 
seventy-five thousand (75,000) tons of 35 per cent copper ore in sight. 
There is on the dump, sacked and being shipped, five hundred (500) sacks 
of ore that will average 42 per cent copper per ton. Twenty per cent 
copper ore will pay. Ten carloads of ore shipped the past season of 1890 
averaged 40 per cent copper per ton, the highest going 47% per cent and 
the lowest (only one car) 32% per cent. The Old Peacock, White Monu- 
ment, Blue Jacket, Copper Crescent, Mountain Queen, Legal Tender, 
Helena, Calumet and Norma, are all patented mines and were recently 
sold by Messrs. Albert Kleinschmidt and Samuel Hauser of Helena, 
Montana, to a syndicate for $1,600,000 cash besides a large block of stock, 
and are now incorporated under the name of the American Mining 
Company, and capitalized at $5,000,000 ; John C. Rogers being the resident 
manager. 

The pay streak in the Alaska is five feet wide and averages 40 per cent 
copper, 30 ounces in silver and $20 gold per ton. There is an incline down 
45 feet on the vein and a tunnel in 100 feet. About 60 tons of ore on the 
dump. Col. E. H. Mix and others, of Baker City, Oregon, own this great 
property, and Geo. A. Ralm, of Weiser, Idado, has it bonded. 

The Mountain King has an open cut 20 feet, showing a three-foot pay 
streak which averages from 50 to 60 per cent copper per ton, and 30 ounces 
in silver. 

Three hundred tons of high grade copper ore have been shipped from the 
Mountain Queen this season. Average value per ton, 45 per cent copper, 
20 ounces in silver and $10 in gold. 

The Blue Jacket has a shaft down 145 feet (the deepest in the district) 
and the pay streak in the vein is from four to eight feet wide. 



104 IDAHO. 

The Helena has 100 tons of ore on the dump and one tunnel is in 100 
feet and shows a well defined eight-foot vein, all the way, of 45 per cent 
copper ore. 

The Circle C and Triple X are big mines, owned by Moses Fuchs and 
Chas. Morris. 

The Decoro is owned by Col. E. H. Mix, and Mr. Steele of Portland. A 
tunnel has been driven 75 feet on the vein and shows 250 tons of ore. On 
the dump 50 tons of 35 per cent ore. 

About 10 tons of rich ore on the dump at the Arkansaw, and the 60-foot 
tunnel all in ore. 

The Calumet has a tunnel in 30 feet and a shaft down 25 feet, and the 
pay streak three feet wide. 

The Lock wood Group consists of the Lock wood, Lookout and Pomeroy. 
The Lockwood has a tunnel in 145 feet and a shaft 45 feet, which shows 
ore all the way that will average 40 per cent copper. About 50 tons of ore 
on the dump. 

The Dora is the property of Mrs. Jno. C. Rogers; the ore high grade 
and shows free gold. 

The Sampson has a 100 foot tunnel, and the pay streak is 15 feet wide of 
low grade ore. 

On the White Monument a tunnel has been run 100 feet, and 500 sacks 
of ore were shipped last year. This season, 600 sacks of 50 per cent copper 
ore were shipped. Many very rich and exceedingly handsome specimens 
of copper ore, showing great chunks of ore bound together by ropes of 
gold, have been taken out and all the ore goes high in gold. 

The Copper Queen has shipped 1,600 sacks of fine ore this season. 

The South Peacock is owned by a Boston syndicate, and shows a large 
well defined vein of high grade copper ore, showing much free gold. 

The Copper Key was recently purchased by^ Boston people from Al. 
Donart and R. E. Lockwood; consideration, $20,000. 

The only route to this wonderfully rich region is via the Union Pacific 
System, the equipment of which is unsurpassed, service excellent. 

At present one must leave the Union Pacific at Weiser, Idaho, and 
thence 100 miles by stage or private conveyance to Helena, the only town 
in the great Seven Devils Mining Region. The town is only four miles 
from Snake River in a direct line, and a railroad grade eighteen miles 
long has already been made, and it is proposed to lay the track and ship 
all ores and supplies by rail to the head of navigation on Snake River, and 
thence by steamer to Huntington, which place is also on the Union 
Pacific. 

The town site of Helena is less than half a mile from the old Peacock, 
South Peacock, Copper Key, Alaska, White Monument, Dora, Helena, 
Copper Queen, Crescent and other mines, all of which show large bodies 
of high grade gold, silver and copper ore. A population of at least 5,000 is 
confidently predicted during 1891, 



IDAHO. 105 

WILL IT PAY TO FARM? 

Will it pay to farm in Idaho, and if so, how much? The question has 
been asked elsewhere, as well as here, and has been successfully answered. 
"What man has done, man can do," is a familiar motto. Here is the result 
of one farmer's operations: — 

Interest on 160 acres of land, $10 per acre, at 10 per cent $160 00 

Water right, $800 ; interest on same 80 00 

Plowing, at $1 .25 per acre 200 00 

Harrowing, 50 cents per acre 80 00- 

Seed wheat 150 00 

Labor of irrigation 160 00 

Labor— harvesting and stacking 400 00 

Labor— threshing— 4,800 bushels 384 00 

Marketing 150 00 

Total expense. $1,764 00 

Yield, 30 bushels per acre, 4,800 bushels, at $1 per bushel $4,800 00 

Less expense 1,764 00 

Net profit, exclusive of labor, over all expenses $3,036 00 

As Government land can be had free on homestead, or as low as $1.25 per 
acre on pre-emption claims, the $160 interest money can often be carried to 
profit account, showing a still larger return. In sections of Northern 
Idaho, where irrigation is not absolutely required, there is the interest on the 
water right, and the cost of irrigation to be also added. This is for about 
eight months in the year. 

Wheat is the least profitable of Idaho crops. The product of vegetables, 
hay, or fruits pays far better. 

It is not unusual for immigrants to locate on wild land in Idaho valleys 
adjacent to mining regions, put up comfortable houses, good fences, etc., 
and pay for all such improvements with the first year's crop of potatoes or 
other vegetables taken from only a small portion of their farms. The facts 
that Idaho farmers were, as a rule, very poor when they embarked in busi- 
ness a few years ago, and that they are now generally well off and have fine 
buildings and the best implements, with often large herds of stock, are 
proof that this is a lucrative pursuit. 

Idaho potatoes sell for 75 cents to $1 50 per 100 pounds — sometimes in 
mining camps much higher — and other vegetables in proportion. Take here 
in connection with grain raising, the production of poultry, eggs, butter, 
pork, vegetables, and similar items]now almost unnoticed as " not worth both- 
ering about," and the industrious and frugal farmer and housewife, managing 
as do those in thickly-settled States from necessity, should soon make them- 
selves independent. It is often almost impossible in the winter to secure 
fresh eggs at 50 cents per dozen in Idaho towns, and daring the past winter 
we have seen 75 cents offered. Butter often ranges from 40 to 50 cents the 
entire winter, and it is frequently impossible to secure a good article. 

The constant increase in the magnitude of railway, mining, and other 
operations in all parts of the State justifies the belief that any consider- 
able surplus of produce can not be raised in the mountain districts for years 
to come, and until that time prices must remain from 50 to 100 per cent 
higher than in the States. Again, agricultural land is usually so benefi- 



100 IDAHO. 

cently interspersed with the great mineral belts that the market will be at 
hand, and the miner accommodated as well as the farmer. This reminds us 
that in Pocahontas Valley, near the Oregon Short Line, there is a 160-acre 
homestead from one end of which fifty bushels of wheat per acre was har- 
vested last season, while from a gulch at the other end gold was being mined 
to the extent of 50 cents per pan. 

FRUIT CULTURE. 

Idaho valleys can not be excelled by any region east of California for 
the production of fruit. Apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, apricots, 
plums, grapes, and all small fruits are produced in the greatest abundance, 
and of a quality unsurpassed. The sage-brush lands, naturally the very 
emblem of sterility and desolation, are in a few years turned into the finest 
fruit farms with less trouble thaivwould attend a similar transformation on 
the wild prairies of Iowa or Nebraska. A prominent fruit-grower estimates 
that 25,000 large fruit trees have been set out annually for the past five 
years in the valleys surrounding Boise City. Several of the orchards in this 
locality produce from 25,000 to 40,000 bushels of fruits each, annually. 
Gen. L. F. Carter, ex-Surveyor General of Idaho, has forty varieties of 
grapes in his vineyard, few of which have ever failed to bear a full crop, 
save the Catawba. John Krall, in the suburbs of Boise City, has 125 acres 
in fruits (20,000 trees), embracing all the varieties known in this latitude. 
The production of this fruit-farm in a recent season was 500,000 pounds. 
His market is mainly in the mining camps, and his fruits command from 3 
to 10 cents per pound. Thos. Davis, also near Boise City, has a seventy-five 
acre orchard (10,000 trees). His orchard has failed to produce but once in 
the last eleven years, and his last season's crop of 40,000 bushels of large 
fruits and 500 bushels of berries returned him a snug little fortune alone. 
His orchard is eighteen years old. He irrigated the first four or five years, 
but has not found it necessary since. Mr. Davis has an extensive fruit-dry- 
ing apparatus, and a cider vinegar factory, in which he works up vast 
quantities of fruit annually. Indeed, fruit-drying and the manufacture of 
cider is a prominent and very profitable industry. One firm dries from 
30,000 to 40^000 pounds of fruit annually, and this industry bids fair to grow 
until at least the demand of Idaho and adjacent territory is supplied. 

The fourth year's growth of apple trees in Boise Valley has yielded 200 
pounds; of cherries, 75 pounds; peaches, 150 pounds; of pears, 130 pounds; 
of plums, 150 pounds; while small fruit, such as strawberries, currants, 
gooseberries, blackberries and raspberries, are very prolific. Many of the 
more elevated mountain regions, such as Wood River Valley, can duplicato 
these figures, except as to peaches. The growth of wood made by fruit 
trees, and the quantity of fruit often found loading the branches, is 
almost incredible. John Lamb, in Boise City, has black locust trees on 
which we were shown limbs that had grown from twelve to fifteen feet in 
one season, and plum, peach, and apple trees, two years from the graft, full 
of fruit. In another orchard wo counted 140 nearly-ripe green gage plums 
on a branch seventeen inches long, the plums averaging one and a half 
inches in diameter. 



IDAHO. 107 

Idaho is the very Eden for plums and prunes. The trees are perfectly 
healthy, grow vigorously, and bear much earlier than in the States east of 
the Rocky Mountains, and for size, beauty and excellence of flavor, the 
fruit is unsurpassed in any part of the globe. One farmer has sold his 
prune crop at an average of $600 per acre. Another has recently set twenty 
acres in prunes. Plums and prunes, especially the latter, are found to be 
so profitable for drying that many orchards are being planted for that pur- 
pose. There seems to be no danger of over-doing the business, as the plum 
and prune growing districts of the United States are very limited, and 
immense quantities of dried prunes are imported from Europe. The Idaho 
German prunes are pronounced superior to the imported fruit. 

The "Fruit Belt" covers all the agricultural district in Idaho, although 
some elevated regions are too cool to admit of the production of peaches, 
apricots, and nectarines. In Wood River Valley, Camas Prairie, Bear Lake 
Valley, Malad Valley, Goose Creek Valley — all of which are really mountain 
valleys — all kinds of hardy fruits grow abundantly. Currants of a wild 
variety, when cultivated, grow as large as gooseberries, and gooseberries as 
large in proportion. In these mountain valleys the growth of these kinds 
of fruits is something remarkable. Strawberries and raspberries flourish 
and produce an excellent quality of fruit. Apples, pears, etc., have been 
grown sufficiently to insure their successful production. Many trees have 
been planted during the last three years, and several orchards are bearing 
slightly. The fruit is fair and free from worms. The trees that have been 
planted make a healthy and vigorous growth. It is known that cherries 
and plums will thrive, but winters are too severe for peaches. 

There is a grand future in store for the Idaho fruit-grower. Montana 
to the north, Wyoming on the east, and Nevada to the south, produce 
practically no fruit. With her railroads, reaching the remotest corner of 
these States, and with a vast consumption at home, Idaho is assured 
the best fruit market in the land. Large shipments have already been 
made during recent seasons. Boise Valley has supplied not only her home 
market and Wood River, but also the neighboring territory with her fruits. 
Official figures show that out of a total of 500,000 pounds of fresh fruit 
received at Butte, Mont., up to November 1, 1887, 253,430 pounds were from 
Boise Valley, the remainder being from California, the Missouri River 
Valley, Utah and Portland. From November 1st, up to which date the 
above figures were given, an additional 150,000 pounds of apples were 
shipped to Butte from this valley, making in all 400,000 pounds of fruit 
contributed by Boise Valley to the single mining camp of Butte in one 
season. 

A recent writer, in reference to the profits of fruit farm of Mr. Thomas 
Davis, near Boise City, says: — 

"Preparatory to shipment, the apples are packed in fifty-pound boxes. 
They readily find a market in all parts of Idaho and adjoining States and 
Territories. No less than 250,000 pounds of this fruit have already been 
sent by rail to various parts of the Northwest, and Mr. Davis still has as 
many stored away in the three-story building, specially prepared for the 
purpose, and shipments continue to be made almost daily. Apples boxed 






108 IDAHO. 

and shipped net about $1. 25 per 100 pounds, so we may safely calculate that 
the fruit already disposed of and that yet in store will bring Mr. Davis a 
clear 36,250. Besides this he has 150 barrels of vinegar, 20,000 pounds of 
choice dried apples, and a considerable quantity of pears and cider. Alto- 
gether this year, the net profit derived from this sample orchard will reach 
the handsome sum of $10,000. This is only a sample of what Idaho is doing 
in the way of producing fruit, which is everywhere pronounced of superior 
quality and delicious flavor." 

As indicative to some extent of the long, mild growing seasons in the 
lower valleys of Idaho, we note the fact that the second crop of berries and 
other fruits is not infrequently picked the same year. Says the Boise 
Statesman, of October, 1888: — 

"Dr. E. Smith showed us samples of a second crop of apples on one of 
the trees in his orchard. They were of the Early Bough variety, and were 
mellow and really good apples. Two peculiarities about these apples are 
worthy of mention. The first crop on the tree grew here and there all over 
the tree, while the second crop grew in clusters. In the first crop, the 
apples were round, and in the second, they were long and narrow. Strange 
freak this,, all owing, no doubt, to this ' wonderful climate ' of Idaho. F. H. 
McDonald, living near Star Postoffice, also brought to the Statesman office 
yesterday samples of a second and third crop of apples for the current year. 
The second-crop apples were large and mellow, really excellent eating apples, 
while the third crop were as large as walnuts with the shell on. They grew 
in bunches. We have seen a number of samples of second-crop apples, but 
this is the first we have seen of a third crop.' Farmer McDonald may pass 
to the head of the class." 

J. A. Goodhue, manager of the western branch of the Geneva Nursery, 
lately visited Western Idaho. In an interview he said: — 

64 1 first went to Caldwell and stopped a number of days. The town has 
about 500 people, and is growing steadily. Merchants report business as 
satisfactory and all the time increasing. Produce brings good prices. Hay 
sells, I think, at $15 per ton; oats, $1.50 to $2 per 100 pounds; potatoes, $1 
per 100; in fact, all products have a good market. 

"I went along the Idaho Irrigating and Colonization Company's ditch. 
It takes water from the Boise River, opposite Caldwell, and extends north- 
west about twenty-three or twenty-four miles. It is completed, and is 
estimated to cover between 30,0,po and 40,000 acres, all of which is first-class 
heavy sage-brush land. Most of this land is already taken, and quite a num- 
ber are improving. I am having my section cleared of sage-brush, and the 
brush makes the fence. Such a fence is four feet wide and four and one- 
half feet high. Posts are put in a rod apart, and one strand of wire is 
stretched above. Such a fence will last a long time. Land can be cleared 
and fenced for about $4 per acre. 

" I understand that arrangements have been made with Eastern capital- 
ists to furnish money to buy the Ridenbough ditch, and to enlarge and 
extend it. This takes water from the river above Boise City and conveys it 
to the table-lands. After enlarging they will extend it to Nampa, thence to 
Bernad's and Henderson's Ferries. Its cost will be $100,000. 



IDAHO. 109 

4 
"I believe that part of Western Idaho extending from Boise City across 
south to Snake River and west to Weiser, will become the garden spot of 
Idaho within the next five years. I think Boise Valley the richest in Idaho. 
There is another locality a little farther east that should be mentioned, 
Mountain Home. The town is in the center of a large country subject to 
cultivation with irrigation." 

STOCK-RAISING. 

The natural and long-continued dryness of the atmosphere — summer and 
winter — the almost inexhaustible and wonderfully nutritious grasses, which 
cure as they grow, making them as sustenance for animals, almost equal to 
the feeding of hay and grain, the infrequency of snow or other storms during 
the year, the warm breezes from the Pacific, and the ability of stock to live 
without shelter and take care of themselves, prove Idaho to be their natural 
home and breeding ground. Botanists inform us that on the 25,000,000 
acres of Idaho grazing lands there are not less than thirteen different species 
of indigenous and nutritious grasses, all differing in leaf, height, root, and 
seed top, and which retain vigorous vitality throughout the coldest winters. 
The best and most common of these is the bunch-grass. It grows almost 
everywhere. There are several different varieties of bunch-grass, two of 
which are the most popular and generally known, one with a blade that 
resembles the blue-grass, and stems which run up in a cluster, bearing seed 
much in the same manner that blue-grass does, except that it does not form 
a tuft, but grows in bunches, and is found upon the high, rolling bench* 
lands, parks, and mountains. The other kind grows more frequently upon 
the first bench, next to the bottoms; the blade is sharp, the heads all turn to 
one side, and from the broad boot on the seed-stock is often called the " flag- 
grass." As to quantity per acre there is but little, if any, difference. The 
latter is usually preferable for cattle, but the former is thought to be best 
for sheep, yet either is very fine. 

These grasses start forth in early spring and grow very rapidly. If there 
have been Jieavy snows during the winter, and the ground is well saturated 
with water, or if there are frequent rain and snow storms as the spring 
opens, the crop of bunch-grass is very large. In ordinary springs the grass 
is headed out by the 1st of June, and the prairies and hills, where not cov- 
ered by sage, are beautiful as a waving field of grain. The height of the 
grass is usually from six to twelve inches, with blades from six to eight 
inches long; yet under very favorable circumstances it grows much taller. 
We have seen miles and miles of bunch lands along the mountain slopes, 
which were one vast sea of bunch-grass fully eighteen inches high and thick 
enough to mow. By the last of June the heads ripen, and in ordinary sea- 
sons the blades are all nicely cured by the middle of July, and the whole 
landscape is brown as a field of grain ready for the sickle, and would burn 
if set on fire. In exceptional seasons the blades of grass remain green and 
continue to grow until September. There is, however, no advantage in it 
remaining green, as there seems to be no perceptible difference in the fat- 
tening of stock. In fact, many incline to the opinion that the early cured 



110 IDAHO. 

% 
is the best. The cured grass retains its nutriment all winter, from the fact 

that there are no drenching rains in the fall to bleach it, the light snows 
which come in early winter, and melt off soon, only serving to moisten it 
and make it more palatable. Then the shrubs, such as white, black, and 
yellow sage, and greasewood are abundant and invaluable for winter graz- 
ing. 

There is an almost unlimited area of summer pasturage in the mount- 
ains and many mountain parks and elevated valleys, while the Great Snake 
River plains and tributary valleys have thus far afforded an ample winter 
feeding ground. This refers to the purely " range" cattle business, in 
which the animals are left wholly to care for themselves. In this way the 
annual expense of caring for cattle or horses of 1,000 or more, is about $1 
per head. Adding taxes, and we have the total cost of producing a $30 
steer — $4.50. Men, who five to ten years ago engaged in the business on a 
small capital, find themselves rich. The consequence is that many business 
men in recent years have invested in cattle. All figure on a profit of from 25 
to 35 per cent per annum, Stock cattle, all ages and sexes, sell in Idaho 
at an average of about $18 per head. Until the country is thoroughly 
stocked, no money is needed for a ranch. Improvements generally consist 
of rough log huts and corrals, which, for say 1,000 head of cattle, need not 
cost over $250, if the owner relies largely on his own muscle. The addi- 
tional expense is the cost of living, if the owner does his own herding, and 
this will vary from $250 to $400 a year. If a herder is employed he receives 
about $35 per month and board. 

But the cattle business is rapidly taking a different, a more satisfactory, and 
equally profitable form. Owing to the rapid occupation of the ranges and their 
gradual reduction by the encroachment of farmers, many stock men are already 
securing tracts of the fertile Government land near their ranges and providing 
feed for at least a portion of their cattle. Herds are being rapidly improved by 
the introduction of blooded bulls of the best beef breeds. One breeder, near 
Hailey, has nearly 200 head of choice thoroughbred shorthorn cattle, which 
he shipped from Kentucky during the summer of 1888, in pursuance of this 
aew plan. Fields of clover, alfalfa, and other grasses are being sown, to 
feed them a month or two in the winter, and it is estimated that within 
three years the average value of such herds will have doubled, thus amply 
justifying the additional expense and trouble. One hundred acres of clover 
or alfalfa, at a low estimate, will produce 500 tons of hay. This will, dur- 
ing the average Idaho winter, feed 500 head of cattle, keeping them in a fine, 
growing condition, absolutely insuring them against loss, and produce as 
much weight in a 3-year-old steer as the 4-year-old would weigh under the 
old system. 

There is a grand field for the investment of either large or small capital 
\n either of these systems. In Bingham, Lemhi, Washington, Alturas, Owy- 
hee, and Ada counties, and all along the Snake River for 400 miles, in sight 
of the Oregon Short Line, as well as in Northern Idaho and Eastern Oregon 
and Washington, are vast and only partially occupied cattle ranges, where 
the fortunate few who are established are on a sure and short road to fortune. 
The present low price of cattle makes it possible for the new-comer to get his 






IDAHO. Ill 

Start in these districts under much more favorable circumstances than did 
the hundreds who have become comfortably " well off" during the past ten 
years in this business. 

About 30,000 head of cattle are marketed annually, most of which are 
shipped over the Union Pacific Railway to Eastern markets, the balance 
being consumed in Idaho towns and mining camps. 

Stock trains on the Union Pacific, from Idaho points eastward, are run 
on passenger train time, and the rates to Chicago are only a comparatively 
small advance over those from points much nearer the East. This accom- 
modation and concession upon the part of the .Union Pacific Railway Com- 
pany, when taken in consideration with the superior natural advantages of 
this region, places the Idaho stock raiser in# very favorable position when 
compared with those east of the Rocky Mountains. 

In a letter to the writer of these pages, Hon. George L. Shoup, Governor 
of Idaho, has this to say on the subject of stock-raising: "The stock grower 
is also rewarded with a handsome income from his herds of cattle, sheep, 
and horses. Cattle and horses winter in Idaho without hay or grain, sub- 
sisting and keeping in good condition upon bunch-grass, sweet sage and other 
nutritious food; a ready market at good prices is found in the mining camps 
for most of the beef produced, and the surplus is shipped to Chicago and 
other Eastern markets. The shipment can be made profitable on account 
of reduced rates given by the Union Pacific Railway from points on its Utah 
& Northern branch. From the writer's personal experience in cattle rais- 
ing, he can verify the statement that it can be conducted with profit. Like 
all other kinds of business, a few have been disappointed in not realizing 
their expectations. The cause is easily traced to the fact that their stock 
was permitted to run at will, many of the increase going unbranded, much 
of the old stock wandering off to neighboring ranges, and in the fall of the 
year no care was taken to place the stock on a good winter range. Those 
having taken. care of their stock have in all cases done well, and have made 
more money than could have been realized from the same amount of capital 
invested in any other legitimate enterprise." 

Another old resident writes as follows: " The farmer and stock raiser 
have the endless mountain range, free of taxes, upon which to raise their 
stock. From the very nature of the country, there will always be compara- 
tively few towns in Idaho. The real business will be farming, stock rais- 
ing, and mining. While fortunes will be made for ages to come at the last- 
named business, stock raising and farming will be the most certain invest- 
ments. Stock raising must always be good; for, as I said before, it costs but 
little to raise stock, and farming will always pay well, as the miners will 
consume all that will be raised in the valleys, and the produce will command 
higher rates than can be obtained in the States. I could pick out, here and 
there, all over the Territory, valleys that whole neighborhoods from the 
States could move into and find homes, which, in a short time, they would 
not exchange for their old ones. It is hard to tell which is more profitable 
here, raising cattle or horses, as I find a wide difference of opinion on the 
subject. It certainly takes less capital to start in the cattle business; but 



DAHO. 



with capital to start on, I am inclined to believe raising horses and mules is. 
the most remunerative. There are not many sheep here, but the business 
is a good one." 

We have before us the statement of a stockman who commenced with 
$3, 500, buying 100 head of cows, putting up a neat log cabin and reserving 
enough of the capital to pay his expenses for one year. At the end of the 
fourth year the increase from the little herd, at a low valuation, was worth 
$8,000. Another statement made for us by a well-known stockman, shows 
a net profit of $42,500 made in six years from an investment of $13,500. 
We are well acquainted with another prominent stock grower in Lemhi Val- 
ley, who invested $11,000 in cattle ten years ago. A year or two later he 
added $9,000 to his investment, mainly buying cows at the then high price 
of $40 per head. At the end of the first ten years he had sold enough of the 
increase to get back the $20,000 invested, as well as to pay all the expenses 
of carrying on the business for the ten years, and he has over $100,000 
worth of cattle left. His loss last year was only 1 per cent, and it has 
averaged less than 3 per cent for years at a time. 

Horses, more hardy than either sheep or cattle, because they will paw 
away the deepest snow that may cover their pasturage, are also being intro- 
duced in large numbers, despite the large amount of capital required for a 
respectable start. The average increase of colts is 80 per cent of the mares. 
No hay or grain is usually fed, except to the thoroughbred leaders of the 
herds, of which there are now quite a large showing. An authority on such 
matters estimates that there is room for 200,000 head of horses on Snake 
River Valley alone, where this industry seems to be taking the lead. There 
are at present, according to the official reports of the assessors, 123,804 
horses in Idaho. A large proportion of these are native or "broncho" 
stock, although many herds of a better class are being established, and most 
of the ordinary herds are being readily improved by the introduction of 
good-blooded sires. One breeder spent $10,000 on the improvements of a 
1,000-acre ranch near Hailey in 1888. He is stocking it with imported draft 
stallions and large native mares. 

A correspondent offers these practical suggestions on this business; 
"What are wanted here are good draft-horses, and the market for such 
would be limitless at paying prices. Suppose a man, probably in connec- 
tion with some other business, such as sheep raising or raising grain, were ■• 
to buy fifty brood mares (half-breeds), which he can procure for $30 each, 
and one draft stallion, costing $1,000. He will thus have invested $2,500. 
He need be at no expense for feeding or stabling, except in the case of the 
stallion, and at very little expense for herding, if he gives the business his 
personal attention. The average of colts is 80 per cent of the mares, so that 
at the end of the first year he would have forty colts worth $20 each, mak- 
ing $800, a return of over 30 per cent on his investment. Carry this com- 
putation forward, and suppose him to sell off his geldings when they are 
four years old, to pay expenses and buy additional stallions, retaining the 
mare colts for breeders, and it will be seen that in five years he will have a 
herd worth at least $10,000." 



IDAHO. 113 



WOOL-GROWING. 



Idaho is making rapid strides in wool-growing. From 50,000 sheep in 
1880, her herds have increased to 350,000 in 1888. The profits of wool-grow- 
ing are, by many, placed higher than in cattle-growing. All agree that the 
wool-clip will pay every item of expense, leaving the increase a clear gain. 
The annual increase of 1,000 ewes, two years old and upwards, will range 
from 85 to 115 per cent, while the increase of flocks of all ages and sexes is 
placed at 48 per cent. Tho loss from all causes is estimated by a majority 
of the prominent breeders with whom we have conversed, at 2 to 8 per cent. 
Few flocks are sheltered in winter, and but few receive any feed other than 
that gathered by themselves. Sheep raising is emphatically the poor man's 
industry, for, with a free range, timber at hand for shade and corrals, and, 
in fact, no capital needed for running expenses after the first season, he is 
master of the situation if he can command any sum from $500 upwards for 
the purchase of a small flock. Better still is the plan of leasing flocks, by 
which the trusty workingman without a dollar can secure a flock of from 
1,000 to 2,000 head, for say five years, giving the owner one-half the increase 
and wool, and returning the original number of sheep at the termination 
of the lease. Many a poor man has become wealthy by starting in the 
business in this way. 

One instance of this kind is noted near Caldwell, where a poor herder, 
with practically no capital but his muscle and energy, took 1,000 sheep on 
the shares, agreeing to return the original number of ewes in four years, 
with half of the total increase, and to deliver one-half of the entire wool- 
clip. In 1880, the increase was 1,050; in 1881, 1,250; in 1882, 1,400. In July, 
1880, the owners received $650 for their half of the wool-clip; in 1881, $1,000, 
and in 1882, $1,100. The herd numbered 7,000 at the end of the four years, 
worth at least $22,000, and the wool-clip of the last year was worth $4,500. 
The owners thus had received in four years, $5,000 worth of wool and 3,000 
sheep, worth $10,000, or a return of $15,000 in four years, from an invest- 
ment of $4,000, and have their original band of sheep besides. The renter 
had not a dollar at the start, but has now a $20,000 flock of sheep and a well- 
improved ranch. 

Robert Noble, whose flocks range near the Oregon Short Line, in Owyhee 
county, was thirteen years ago working for $30 a month. He invested 
a few years' wages in sheep, and is now accounted worth $150,000 to $200,000. 

It needs no argument to prove that these high, dry localities in the 
Northwest are the natural home of the sheep. It is next to impossible to 
originate disease among sheep here, where they are out in the sunshine 
every day in the year, where there is no moisture to continually saturate 
the hoof and produce foot-rot, or to saturate the fleece and invite scab and 
other skin diseases. Browsing where it is never muddy, the fleeces rarely 
get dirty or matted, and while rarely washed before shearing, the wool is 
often as clean as that which is washed in most of the States. 

Idaho sheep are being very rapidly improved. The average weight of 
fleeces four years ago was less than four pounds, while it is now six pounds. 



114 IDAHO. 

Owing to the excellent railroad facilities and rates offered by the Union 
Pacific Railway, Idaho mutton is laid down in the Eastern markets at such 
good time as to afford the wool-grower a fine profit from his wethers. 
Eastern buyers always go to the wool-growers, and as the Idaho fleece is 
much sought after, there is practically a home market. About 2,000,000 
pounds of wool were shipped from Idaho in 1888. One buyer of mutton 
sheep purchased 50,000 wethers at from $2.25 to $2.50 per head for shipment 
East from Idaho over the Union Pacific Railway during 1888. 

Stock men reported cattle, sheep, and horses, doing remarkably well on 
Idaho ranges up to January 15, 1889. At that date Idaho was furnish- 
ing fat cattle for Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, and other Pacific Coast towns, 
and getting better prices than could be obtained in Eastern markets, 
whither all shipments were made prior to three months ago. Many thou- 
sand head of cattle were also shipped from Idaho to Montana ranges in 
1888, where they had suffered a shortage on account of the previous 
severe winter. Idaho ranges have not- suffered seriously on account of 
severe winters for many years, and are regarded as exceptionally reliable 
when compared with the more elevated States surrounding on the east, 
south, and north. 

DAIRYING. 

A thousand dairymen are needed right now in Idaho. There are prob- 
ably more and better openings for dairymen in that country than for any 
other branch of rural industry. The cattle king, with his thousands of 
cows, often either buys his butter or does without, and the denizens of 
cities, towns, and mining camps now look for the butter famine as regularly 
as winter conies. In winter a prime article of ranch butter is worth from 
40 to 60 cents per pound, and will average 35 to 40 cents the year round. 
Climate, pasturage, and water combine to render dairying there a very sat- 
isfactory pursuit. Cows cost comparatively little for their keep, and the 
product of butter or cheese is a clear gain, the increase in stock paying ex- 
penses. Good dairy cows can be purchased at $35 to $45 per head. 

In the center of the best grazing region in the world, with a superior 
climate, an abundance of clear, cold, running water, and whole " coun- 
ties of grass" to be had for the taking, Hailey, Boise, and other Idaho cities 
send to other States for hundreds of thousands of pounds of butter and 
cheese annually. Haste the day when this grand region may be supplying 
its own demand, and sending its car-loads of butter and cheese East by 
express daily. What an advantage the dairyman of Idaho will have over 
his brother of the East ! He can graze his cows on lands that cost him noth- 
ing, winter them at a cost of not to exceed $5 per head, and make and keep 
his butter and cheese in nice shape without the use of ice, while the dairy- 
man of the East has $5,000 to $10,000 invested in every 100 acres of his 
pastures, expends $20 on every cow for winter keep, and suffers more or 
less annoyance and expense on account of the hot days and nights of his 
busiest season. 



IDAHO. 115 

Idaho has hundreds of mountain parks and glens, each with its clear, 
cold streams winding through natural meadows, and its surrounding hill- 
sides carpeted with the most nutritious grasses. Here is the ideal field for 
the dairyman. With cool nights, cold water, an atmosphere of perfect 
purity, free pasturage, the best markets in the world already developed — 
what more can be added? 

Any of the branches of stock raising thus briefly outlined present oppor- 
tunities without end for speedy money-making in Idaho. The requisites 
are in a nutshell — some capital at least, a careful study of the business, and 
the same attention devoted that would be bestowed upon any legitimate 
business venture of equal magnitude. So long as the world pays its greatest 
tribute to food — to bread and beef — the demand must ever keep its propor- 
tion beyond the supply, and these broad pastures and thousands of nestling 
valleys are ready and waiting to respond to the magic touch of labor and 
capital, judiciously applied. 

MANUFACTURING. 

A grand field is open here for manufacturing enterprise. With water- 
power sufficient to turn the burrs and spindles of the world, inexhaustible 
quantities of iron, coal, copper, and other minerals, forests unexcelled, and 
wool, hides, ores, and other raw materials in any desired quantity, Idaho 
may well be investigated by those having capital and experience to expend 
on manufactures. With the exception of some two dozen saw-mills, and 
about the same number of flouring mills, this industry is almost wholly 
undeveloped in Idaho. 

There is a production of over 2,000,000 pounds of wool from the rapidly 
increasing flocks of Idaho annually. From experiments made under similar 
conditions in neighboring States and Territories, woolen-mills can undoubt- 
edly be made to pay in Idaho. A magnificent and unlimited water-power 
can easily be developed at the American Falls of Snake River, at a station 
of the same name on the Oregon Short Line. The vast volume of the river 
here has a descent of some fifty feet immediately under the railway bridge 
spanning the stream. Good openings, with ample water-power, are also 
presented to such an industry at Hailey, Boise City, Caldwell and other 
points. 

There is not a foundry or machine-shop for 500 miles along the Oregon 
Short Line and Utah & Northern Railways, and several are needed. 
With coal, iron, zinc, lead, and all the other ores in the mountains, Idaho 
should be the metallurgist's, iron founder's, and machinist's own chosen 
country. 

Thousands of hides from Idaho go East annually to be tanned, and 
returned for use at the points from whence they were originally shipped. 
The necessary bark and other adjuncts for successful tanning are plentiful 
and cheap. Several tanneries would find a profitable* field in Idaho. 

Abundant materials are found for pottery and the manufacture of glass, 
Out both these articles are shipped from the far East. One institution 



116 IDAHO. 

engaged in bottling the famous Idanha mineral water at Soda Springs, 
Idaho, uses many car-loads of bottles annually. 

As adjuncts to slaughter and packing-houses, stearine candles (used in 
the mines) and soaps should be made with much profit to the owners. 
There is one small soap factory at Caldwell. 

More lumber-mills, planing-mills, and sash and door factories are needed. 
There is a large and constantly increasing demand for products of such 
factories, which are now largely shipped from distant States. The raw 
material of an excellent quality is practically inexhaustible. 

Improved roller flouring mills are much needed at numerous points, 
among which Hailey, Caldwell, Payette, and Weiser present particularly 
favorable openings. Water-power is abundant at these points, and the 
supply of grain would be ample to employ mills of fair size Idaho wheat 
is now, to some extent, shipped eastward and westward 300 to 500 miles, 
and then returned as flour. 

No finer openings exist anywhere than that in the Boise and other val- 
leys for the canning of fruits and vegetables. The choicest fruits and veg-- 
etables are produced, and train loads shipped to outside markets, while the > 
consumption of canned goods shipped from California and the East aggre- 
gate many car-loads annually. 

The reduction of precious metal ores presents a vast field for capital in 
Idaho. The districts in which various kinds of machinery could be intro- 
duced at an assured great profit are probably more numerous in Idaho than 
anywhere else in the world. The field is almost wholly new, and it is in- 
viting to a wonderful degree. 

EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES. 

The cause of education is keeping pace with the material development 
of the State. There are at present 337 school districts, with 365 schools, 
and 268 school houses costing an aggregate of about $350,000, and a 
school population (between five and twenty-five years of age) of 18,506. 
Expenditures for school purposes in 1888, were $138,662. The school sys- 
tem consists of a State Superintendent, County Superintendents, and 
District Trustees. 

The general school law provides that all moneys accruing from the sale of 
all lands heretofore given, or which may hereafter be given by the Con- 
gress of the United States for school purposes, in said State, and all 
moneys that may hereafter be given and appropriated by the Congress of 
the United States for school purposes, unless the same by special provision 
shall be appropriated for the establishment of a university or other high 
school, together with any moneys by legacy or otherwise donated for educa- 
tional purposes and appropriated to the general fund, and all moneys accru- 
ing to the State from unclaimed moneys from the estate of deceased persons, 
shall be set apart, and shall constitute an irreducible and indivisible State 
general school fund, the interest accruing from which only shall be appro- 
priated to the respective counties of the State, in the manner hereinafter 
specified and directed. 



IDAHO. 117 

For the purpose of establishing and maintaining public schools in 
the several counties in the State, it is the duty of the county commis- 
sioners of each county, at the time of levying the taxes for county and State 
purposes, to-levy a tax of not less than two mills nor more than eight milJs on 
each and every dollar of taxable property, in their respective counties, for 
school purposes. 

The proceeds of fines and forfeitures, and certain licenses, also go to the 
County School Fund. 

Boise City, Hailey, Bellevue, Ketchum Shoshone, and Lewiston each con- 
stitute an independent school district. Each has a graded school in every 
way creditable to the State. The Boise City building cost $50,000; that in 
Hailey, $30,000; and Bellevue. Shoshone. Lewiston, Ketchum, and Caldwell 
each have a building costing from $8,000 to $12,000. Religious, sectarian, 
and political doctrines are expressly forbidden to be taught. 

Teachers' salaries vary according to locality and character of the school. 
In agricultural sections they range from $50 to $75 per month; in mining 
regions from $60 to $125, and in the larger towns from $65 to $150 per month. 

The schools generally are better than could be naturally expected in so 
new a country. Great care is exercised in the selection of teachers, and the 
home-seeker coming to Idaho may be sure of finding abundant educational 
facilities in the elementary and graded schools of the State. 

By the Act of February 18, 1881, Congress granted to the Territory of 
Idaho, seventy-two sections of public lands for school purposes, under 
certain restrictions. These, with the 3,000,000 acres of school lands 
(sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections) allowed under the general law, 
will undoubtedly at some future day form the basis of a sound, substantial 
school system. 

By Act of the last Legislature every parent or guardian is required to 
send his child to school for at least twelve weeks in each school year, eight 
of which must be consecutive. This Act applies only to children between 
the ages of eight and fourteen years, and who reside within two miles of 
the school-house by the nearest traveled road. A failure to comply with 
the said law subjects the parent or guardian to a fine of not less than $5, 
nor more than $50. There are, under certain conditions, exceptions made 
in the law, and the board of trustees in each district are permitted to 
excuse the parents from complying with the provisions of the law. The 
Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Catholics have also established 
sectarian schools, and numerous private schools, some of a high grade of 
excellence, exist. 

As one instance showing the growth in school matters in Idaho, the Su- 
perintendent of Public Instruction, in his report for 1888, says: "I find 
from the files of this office that in 1870 the total number of children of school 
age was only 888; we now have 20,130. In that year only $9,226.06 was 
spent for education, this year over $138,662.56 was expended. Then we 
had but 29 districts; now they number 337. Statistics may be deemed by 
many uninteresting, but the above seem to be convincing in proof that our 
school financial interests and population are marvelously increasing and 
must be provided for energetically." 



118 IDAHO. 

USEFUL MINERALS, ETC, 

Besides her precious metals, Idaho also has an abundance of iron, coal, 
lead, copper, salt, sulphur, mica, marble, sandstone, granite, limestone, and 
some cinnabar, and tin. The State is, therefore, well equipped by 
nature for many industries besides those now engaging her attention. She 
has iron varied enough in kind and quality, and vast enough in quantity, 
for the uses of a great nation. Her copper ores are scarcely less abundant, 
and her coal fields, though but slightly developed, promise to meet all possi- 
ble requirements in the near future. 

Iron. — Near Rocky Bar is a seven-foot vein of ore, carrying 56 per cent 
pure iron. Within two miles of Challis is an immense body of micaceous iron, 
yielding 50 to 60 per cent of that metal. At several points along Wood River 
oxide ores, carrying 50 to 75 per cent iron are found in inexhaustible quanti- 
ties. Near Baker City, along the Western Idaho boundary, are mammoth 
deposits of metallic iron, carrying 70 to 90 per cent of that metal. Three 
miles east of South Mountain, in Southwestern Idaho, is the Narragansett 
iron mine, where a surface of 100 by 600 feet of the vein has been stripped, 
and the limit not reached. A cut into this vein twenty feet deep and fifty feet 
wide, exposes a solid body of magnetic and specular ore, which numerous 
assays prove to contain 95 to 98 per cent pure iron This ore is so pure and 
easily smelted that it has, in its natuial state, been cast into shoes and dies 
for stamp mills at a Silver City foundry. A fifteen-foot vein of hematite, 
near by, is also rich in iron, and carries $30 per ton in gold. We have noted 
many other valuable deposits of iron in the State, among these several 
within a day's ride of Lewiston, in North Idaho, containing from 50 to 75 
per cent iron. 

Coal. — Bituminous coal is found in apparently inexhaustible quantities 
along Bear Lake, near the Southeastern Idaho boundary. It is said to be a 
fine quality for coking and for furnace use. The coal of the beds on Goose 
Creek, seventy-five miles south of Shoshone, in Southern Idaho, is pro- 
nounced by experienced geologists to be brown lignite, and similar to the 
famous German brown coal. It is of an excellent quality for heating, steam, 
and gas purposes. The beds, ten in number, vary in thickness from three 
and one-half feet to eighteen feet, and lie in two distinct scries, with 
seventy-five feet to 100 of sandstone between. All the parting between the va- 
rious veins is of sandstone, and rather hard, requiring no timbering in work- 
ing. One of the beds, and one upon which the greatest amount of work 
has been done, is eighteen feet in thickness, with one small parting, show- 
ing a face of solid coal fourteen feet in thickness. Access to the region is 
easy from the Oregon Short Line. The carboniferous formation extends 
over an area of perhaps twenty miles square; the principal out-cropping be- 
sides those of the main beds on Goose Creek are to be found on Trapper 
Creek and on Grouse Creek, where a limited amount of fine coking coal 
has been found. Coal mines are open on Smith's Fork and on Twin Creeks, 
along the Oregon Short Line in Eastern Idaho, and the famous Mammoth 
mine «hows a vein seventy feet thick of clear coal, and with adjacent veins, 






IDAHO. 119 

separated by thiu veins of clay, will aggregate 200 feet in thickness. A 
good quality of lignite has been found near Boise, bituminous at Horse Shoe 
Bend, twenty-five miles from Caldwell, also between Payette and Weiser 
Rivers, forty miles from Caldwell, and at the Big Bend of Snake River, 
forty miles from Weiser. A good blacksmithing coal has also been found 
on Sucker Creek, twenty- two miles north of Silver City, and several large 
deposits near Lewiston, in Northern Idaho. None of these veins are worked 
to any considerable extent, because wood for fuel has been so plentiful and 
cheap, but the day is fast approaching when a good coal mine will be classed 
a bonanza in Idaho, by virtue of railway extension and the activity in min- 
ing and manufacturing enterprises. 

Copper. — St. Charles mining district, in the eastern edge of Idaho, near 
the Oregon Short Line, contains copper ore assaying 60 to 80 per cent, and 
native copper of great purity. The copper deposit can be traced for thirty- 
five miles. Along the southwestern edge of Camas Prairie, near Mountain 
Home, is an extensive network of copper veins, from one to six feet in thick- 
ness, their ores containing about 40 per cent copper. Near Brownlee's 
Ferry, forty miles north of Weiser, are several large veins running 60 per 
cent copper, and fifty miles farther north in the Seven Devils district, are 
great outcrops of peacock copper ore assaying 65 per cent copper and $25 
in gold and silver per ton. There are many other copper deposits in Alturas 
and Custer counties. 

Lead. — Idaho is a great producer of lead. Wood River, Smoky, Bay 
Horse, Viola, Coeur d'Alene, and other districts are heavy shippers of lead 
ores, containing 50 to 80 per cent lead and $50 to $200 in silver to the 
ton. The Wood River mines alone ship from 20,000 to 30,000 tons of lead 
annually. 

Cinntbar occurs in nearly all the placer claims of Idaho county. At 
Miller's Camp, twenty miles west of Warren, it is found in such quantities 
as to prove troublesome in washing gold, filling the riffles where gold should 
lodge. Although the vein or lode has been persistently sought for, it has 
not been found. In one gulch pieces of iron ore containing from 10 to 50 
per cent of gold have been found, but its source has not yet been traced. 
Thin ore has been observed in the same locality. 

Salt. — About sixty miles northeast of Soda Springs, in a small side val- 
ley which opens into Salt Creek, near what is known as the Old Lander 
Emigrant Road, are the famous salt springs of Oneida county. No pumping is 
required, but the water is run through wooden pipes into large galvanized 
iron pans, in which the salt is made by boiling the water. The water is as cold 
as ordinary spring water, and is perfectly clear, showing how completely the 
saline matter is held in solution. The salt is shoveled out once in thirty 
minutes, and after draining twenty-five hours, is thence thrown into the 
drying house, there to remain until sacked and ready for shipping. The 
supply of water would warrant 2,500 pounds of salt per day. There is 
another small spring near by, which yields water enough for 2,000 pounds 
of salt per day for a portion of the year. The owners began to supply the 
local markets in 1866, at 5 cents per pound. 



120 IDAHO. 

Following is the analysis of the Oneida salt made by Dr. Piggott, of Bal- 
timore. It shows a higher percentage of pure salt than the celebrated 
Onondaga brand, of Syracuse, while neither Liverpool, Turk's Island, nor 
Saginaw salt approaches it in purity, or is as white, clear, or soluble in 
liquids: — 

Chloride of sodium (pure salt) , . . — 97.79 

Sulphate of soda 1 .54 

Chloride of calcium . 67 

Sulphate of magnesia Trace 

Total 100.00 

The increasing demand for salt from the smelting works of Idaho and 
Montana should in time, with improved transportation facilities, make the 
Oneida salt works of inestimable value. As it is, a very nice business has 
been done at these works, the product having for years been from 600,000 
to 1,500,000 pounds per annum. 

Marble. — Marble has long been known to exist in the valley of the 
Snake. The marble bluffs in the vicinity of the Bonanza Bar, sixteen miles 
below American Falls, have been known for. years to furnish a good, market- 
able quality, but nothing was attempted toward its utilization until recently. 
The Union Pacific mineralogist and geologist some time ago took samples of 
the marble to Omaha, where it was found to be of a quality hardly second 
to the best Italian. Machinery will soon be put up for quarrying and sawing 
the marble and putting it in marketable shape It is now being worked 
into monuments, etc., on a small scale, by a marble cutter, who ships it 
from Shoshone. Large deposits of white and variegated marble are found 
along the Clearwater, also in Kootenai and Cassia counties. 

Building Stone. — Granite and sandstone of the finest quality — white, 
pink, gray, and other shades — easily quarried and worked into any desir- 
able shape, abound in various localities along the Oregon Short Line. In 
Ne* Perces county, Northern Idaho, there is a quarry of sandstone of supe- 
rior quality for making grindstones or other stones for sharpening edged 
tools. 

Limestone. — There are inexhaustible quantities of excellent limestone 
near Hailey, Boise, Weiser, and elsewhere, from which a superior article 
of lime is made. 

Sulphur. — There is a mountain of almost pure sulphur, running to 85 
per cent of that useful commodity, at Soda Springs, Eastern Idaho. The 
sulphur has been mined and shipped in a small way for several years, while 
fifty miles of expensive wagon transportation was necessary, and now, with 
a railroad at hand, the enterprise should be pushed on a large scale. 

Mica. — Forty miles north of Weiser, near Weiser River, are two ledges, 
eight by ten feet wide each, of mica. The mines are being developed, and 
thousands of tons of mica are now on their dumps. Clear, merchantable 
sheets, four by six inches in size, can be extracted in vast quantities. De- 
posits of mica are also known to exist near Pend d'Oreille Lake, and south 
of Lewiston, in Northern Idaho. Also at the City of Rocks, in what is 
known as " The Circle," fifty miles south of Shoshone, is a mica prospect, 



IDAHO. IS* 

which is thought to be valuable. Sheets a foot in extent are obtained, 
which show a quality of mica which may prove to be of commercial value. 
It is tough and transparent. 

Brick Clay.— Brick clay and potter's clay are plentiful in several locali- 
ties. The manufacture of fine pressed brick is carried on at Hailey, 
Ketchum, and other points, and a good quality of deep red brick are made 
at almost every prominent point along the Oregon Short Line. 

FISHING AND HUNTING. 

Idaho is the earthly paradise of the sportsman. As for trout, Idaho waters 
are simply alive with them. During thousands of miles of travel in the 
Idaho mountains in the fishing season, we can not say that we ever halted 
two nights where we could not catch a nice mess in an hour. They are so 
plentiful in different lakes and streams that they are caught by the 
wagon load for market. The real delicate, gamy mountain trout, weighing 
from a half pound to two pounds, and the salmon trout, affording just about 
as much sport and as fine eating, weighing from two to ten pounds, are 
often found ready to respond to fly or bait in the same waters. Then there 
are other varieties of fish in some of the streams, although none are so 
numerous as the trout. Salmon run up the Columbia River into the Snake 
and its many tributaries; there spawn, and return late in the spring or early 
summer. Sturgeon of enormous size frequently weighing from 600 
to 1,000 pounds, are abundant in Snake River. The Payette Lakes and 
Sawtooth Lakes are the homes of the redfish. This is a large, beautiful 
fish, weighing from two and a half to six pounds, is of a bright red color 
(and changing to a beautiful blue soon after being taken from the water), with 
head and fins of light brown, and is excellent eating. By some they are be- 
lieved to be the real blue fish of the ocean, whence they come regularly to 
spawn, like the salmon. A species known as bull trout is found in Payette 
Lake; they are larger than the ordinary salmon trout, and weigh from five 
to eleven pounds. 

No better trout fishing can be found in the world than in Silver Creek 
and Wood River, near Hailey, or in the headwaters of Salmon River, Payette 
River, Snake River, and other streams. Much of the finest fishing is within 
a stone's throw of the Oregon Short Line Railway. 

Grizzly, black, and cinnamon bears are still numerous in the forests and 
mountains. The silver-tipped bear is more rare. A specimen exhibited at 
the New Orleans Exposition was captured among the mountains of Saw- 
tooth Range, a few miles north of Ketchum. The American elk is found 
now chiefly in the northern counties; although a herd of ninety was found by 
a young hunter from St. Louis, near Hailey, in November, 1888. Antelope 
are still numerous throughout the Territory, as are also black-tail and 
white-tail deer. 

In addition to those already mentioned, a list of the more common native 
quadrupeds of the State, would include the Rocky Mountain sheep, Cal- 
ifornia lion, yellow wolf, coyote, moose, wolverine, lynx or catamount, wild 
cat, fox (black, gray, silver, and cross), weasel, badger, marten, mink, large 



122 



IDAHO. 



striped skunk, small spotted skunk, large gray, ground, pine, and flying 
squirrel, chipmunk, otter, raccoon, woodchuck, gopher, mole, wood mouse, 
kangaroo rat, and jack rabbit. 

The birds are those common to the Northwest. Eagles (bald and golden) 
are abundant in the mountains, especially in the neighborhood of streams. 
Wild duck, swan, geese, pelican, sage hen, chicken, grouse, and quail are 
plentiful in season. The burrowing owl, fish hawk, and buzzard may 
be mentioned among the large birds. In addition to these, are the 
usual varieties of woodpecker, raven, hawk, pigeon, meadow lark, magpie, 
red-winged blackbird, bluebird, robin, snipe, plover, curlew, sparrow, cross 
bill, linnet, oriole, California canary, swallow, and two varieties of hum- 
ming birds. 

The huntsman of either large or small game can rendezvous at either 
Soda Springs, Pocatello, Hailey, Ketchum, Boise City, Caldwell, Weiser, or 
Payette, and not go amiss. 

A tourist writing from Hailey recently said: '*I have said nothing about 
the game we have found in this Territory, and as my letter is already too 
long. I will only say that the different varieties supplied by the proprietors 
of the Grand Pacific Hotel to their patrons at their world-renowned annual 
game dinners could be duplicated here by a couple of hunters in a few days' 
time. ; - 

PLEASURE AND HEALTH RESORTS. 



Here the " Gem of the Mountains " stands unrivaled. No region of similar 
extent on the globe can compare with Idaho in the number, variety, and merit 
of attractions for the pleasure and health seeker. The enchanting beauty of 
its many Alpine lakes, the majesty and splendor of its thousands of snow-clad 
peaks, towering as they do, above the peaceful landscapes of its loveliest 
vales, and the indescribable glory of its wondrous cataracts in the depths 
of the grandest canons on earth, enrapture artist and poet alike. Amicl 
such scenes, what a privilege it is to drink in an atmosphere whose every 
breath is a tonic, and to partake of sparkling waters, whose efficacy is 
beyond compare. There are other enchanting waters — lakes, rivers, and 
rivulets alike — with myriads of trout and other fish disporting themselves 
in their translucent depths, or waterfowl covering their often placid sur* 
faces, and surrounded by forests inhabited by the elk, bear, deer, mount 
ain sheep, goat, and ether game. What a land for the enthusiastic Nimrod 
or disciple of Izaak Walton. 

The lakes, the rivers, the hunting and fishing, and the all but perfect 
climate have already been treated under appropriate headings. As for the 
Ideal mountain camp grounds, the glades, the parks, and valleys — all mar- 
vels of picturesque beauty — they are almost numberless. Various resorts, 
where all can spend hours or months of pleasure, already possess the luxu- 
ries and conveniences generally supplied by modern hotels elsewhere. The 
name of mineral springs — healing waters — is legion. Hot and cold, delicious 
as the nectar of the gods, or offensive enough for one's worst enemy, soda, 
sulphur, iron, salt, magnesia — these and others of every form known — in 



IDAHO. 123 

number sufficient for the uses of multitudes and in volume and efficacy 
apparently ample "for the healing of the nations." 

The most remarkable group of mineral springs in America are the Soda 
Springs of Bingham county, in Eastern Idaho. They are situated in a 
romantic valley, 5,779 feet above the level of the sea, surrounded by lofty 
snow-clad mountains, and easily reached from the East or West by the Ore- 
gon Short Line, which passes through this region on its way to Portland. 
Bear River, which is a tributary of Great Salt Lake, flows through this 
depression in the mountains from east to west. On the north side, Soda 
Creek, fed by innumerable springs, and carrying a large volume of water, 
flows down to its junction with Bear River. The town and station of Soda 
Springs are on this creek, a mile above its junction with Bear River. 
Within a radius of two or three miles are scores of large springs, the waters 
ranging from almost ice-cold to warm, containing magnesia, soda, iron, sul- 
phur, and various other constituents, in such proportions as to have a great 
power on disease, and some of them being so highly charged with carbonic 
acid and other *gases as to prove a most pleasing beverage. The waters are 
a superb tonic, and are effecting remarkable cures of skin and blood dis- 
eases, dyspepsia, rheumatism, and many other ills our flesh is heir to. 
Steamboat Springs, so named by General Fremont in 1843, have a tempera- 
ture of 87°. Many of the more prominent springs have names such 
as the Jewsharp, Hooper, Champagne, Formation, etc., but the one from 
which water is shipped, and which is free from sediment of all kinds, is 
called Idanha, the Indian name for Idaho, which means ' Gem of the 
Mountains." The water from this spring is most palatable, and has a 
delightfully refreshing and invigorating effect. These delicious soda and 
magnesia waters are becoming so popular that train-loads are,shipped each 
season to consumers in distant States. The company developing this 
laudable industry is now able to put up 10,000 bottles daily During a sin- 
gle month in 1888 the Union Pacific Railway shipped over 100 tons of this 
bottled elixir from Soda Springs Station 

The Soda Springs region abounds in other attractions worth crossing our 
Continent to see, among them magnificent drives, beautiful lakes, extinct 
volcanoes, geyser cones, sulphur mountains, a boiling lake of the same ma- 
terial, some wonderful caves, superb fishing and hunting, and an atmos- 
phere calculated to bring the flush of health to any but the mcst hopeless 
invalid. It promises to be the great sanitorium of the West, and for years 
has been the resort of hundreds annually, who have been willing to "stage 
it" for forty or fifty, or even one hundred miles, to reach its charmed pre- 
cincts. Soda Creek, Bear River, Blackfoot River, Pert Neuf River, and 
Swan and Bear Lakes are close by, and furnish unlimited numbers of trout 
The Blackfoot and Port Neuf are particularly the favorite streams for this 
sport, while in the mountains there are bear and elk. 

Says a writer: '• Mountain scenery could scarcely be finer than it is here, 
in this lovely pass through the Wahsatch, and the atmosphere is one of its 
chief delights. It is dry, cool, and extremely invigorating. One wakes from 
sleep refreshed, and after a draught from the sparkling Idanha, feels as if 
he had discovered anew the Fountain of Youth The days are warm, bright, 




124 IDAHO. 

and pleasant, but fires are generally required night and day throughout the 
summer." 

Four miles southwest of Soda Springs is Swan Lake, one of the loveliest 
natural gems set in the Wahsatch chain. It reclines in an oval basin, 
whose rim is ten feet above the surrounding country. The shores are 
densely covered with trees, shrubs, and the luxuriant undergrowth native 
to that country. The outlet is a series of small, moss-covered basins, sym- 
metrically arranged, the clear water overflowing the banks, trickling into 
the nearest emerald tub, then successively into others, until it forms a 
sparkling stream, and dances away to a confluence with Bear River in the 
valley below. It is a matter of common belief among old residents of the 
locality that the lake is bottomless, no sounding having yet developed its 
depth. Adjacent to this fit abode for water nymphs is the singular sulphur 
lake, out of whose center, liquid sulphur incessantly boils, and coats the 
shores with thick deposits looking as though it might be the direct out-crop- 
ping of Plutonian regions. 

The Union Pacific Company has erected a superb hotel at Soda Springs 
for the accommodation of the thousands of visitors. It is built in the Swiss 
chalet style, is three stories high, surrounded on three sides by a wide ve 
randa, and surmounted with handsome towers. Is is so built that there are 
no inside rooms, bat from every side one can look out upon the magnificent 
mountain scenery. It is lighted with electric lights, and has all modern 
conveniences and comforts, and is kept in the usually faultless style of the 
Pacific Hotel Company, by whom it has been leased. 

Soda Springs is an ideal health resort, to which tens of thousands wii 
journey to find all that could be wished for by the most exacting. Its accessi 
bility; the wildness, singularity, and sublimity of its scenery; the coolness, 
salubrity, and invigorating influences of its Climate, its inviting baths, it 
veritable founts of youth, its dozens of rivers and lakes, alive with game 
trout, and its deep solitudes of mountain and forest, only broken as haunts 
for noble game — these alone would render it a Mecca to be eagerly sought, 
saying nothing of its other regal charms which could be elaborated in ap- 
propriate space. 

Westward from Soda Springs, the Oregon Short Line route lies for forty 
miles amid some of the most interesting, pleasing, and picturesque scenes in all 
nature. In winding its way down out of the confines of the rugged Wahsatch 
Mountains to the Great Snake River Valley, it follows Port Neuf River. 
Giant cones and craters of extinct volcanoes, yawning chasms, extenting 
into the earth's unknown depths, dark caves, and caverns, lofty palisades, 
all relics of the volcanic age, vie with the gentler phases of an exquisitely 
beautiful valley panorama to fill the tourist's eye. The river, sinuous as a 
serpent's trail, is often broken by loveliest cataracts. The valley is alter- 
nately a solid bed of highly-colored wild flowers, a luxuraintly-grassed 
meadow, and well-tilled fields. Towering supremely into the skiesarehere 
and there the snow-capped heights, to complete the realization of an artist's 
dream. Midway between Soda Springs and Pocatello, a fine group of hot 
sulphur springs burst from the rocks at the water'sedge. Here almost any- 
where the angler can land a basket of trout in a few hours within a few 
feet of the railway track, or the sportsmen can bag his dozen ducks or 
geese in an equally short period. At Pocatello, where the Oregon Short 
Line crosses the Utah & Northern Railway, are fine hotel accommodations 
provided by the Union Pacific Company, and this is an excellent rendezvous 
for the tourist. 

About twenty-five miles west of Pocatello, the Oregon Short Line crosses 
Snake River amid the roar and spray of the American Falls. It is a wild, 
weird spectacle, not soon forgotten. Happily for the tourist, nature offered 
a bold crag in mid river for a pier in just the right location to tempt the con- 
structing engineer — hence the great iron bridge in the very midst of the 
falls and rapids. While the descent is only about fifty feet, the enormous 
volume of the river, here spread to some 1,500 feet in width, is so terrifically 






IDAHO. 125 



convulsed by its mad plunge over a variety of elevations, that the beholder 
is amply repaid by his complete and convenient view from the car-window 
and platform. 

About 100 miles west of American Falls is Shoshone, the point from 
which the Wood River Branch Railway diverges northward from the main 
line to the Wood River region. It is also the nearest railway point to the 
great Shoshone Falls, which are reached by a pleasant twenty-five mile 
drive southward. Shoshone Falls are Idaho's chief wonder and pride. In 
some respects they have no equal — and certainly no prototype in the 
known world. They are the very incarnation of all the intensely fascinat- 
ing features of the world's few great cataracts. No visitor can say that ho 
has ever elsewhere beheld such a wondrous scene; none will ever regret a 
trip across our Continent to see it. All are wont to compare Shoshone with 
Niagara. As well compare two absolutely dissimilar forms of architecture. 
There is nothing in either to remind one of the other, save the vast basin of 
foaming, surging waters at the bottom. Niagara winds its way monot- 
onously through a comparatively level country, and drops methodically 
into a commonplace amphitheatre. It is all power and majesty. Shoshone 
is this and more. The weirdness and enchantments of its abysmal 
home, and the singularity and sublimity of its mighty plunge mocks 
all attempts at description. Shoshone pours torrent-like through one of 
the grandest canons on earth. Where it pauses to take its awful leap, parti- 
colored and fantastically-wrought cliffs rise straight 1,500 feet above it. All 
its vast volume is instantly dashed over a myriad of jutting rocks into a 
world of spray, whose fleecy, graceful columns often ascend 1,000 feet in the 
air. With somewhat less volume than Niagara, Shoshone is one-third 
higher, and while its face possesses in the main a regular outline, the minor 
projections along the line of descent obstruct the downward movement just 
enough to seeminlgly transform every atom of water into spray and foam. 
Her«e is the indescribable splendor and beauty of Shoshone. It is all activ- 
ity. Not a moment is the enrapturing scene the same. The gorgeous 
spray-columns are often dissipated into a thousand fantastic shapes, by com- 
ing into contact with glittering masses of snow-white foam, the whole under 
the radiance of the sun being enhanced to beauty indescribable by the rich- 
est colors of the rainbow. The river, within a few rods of the great falls, 
drops seventy feet, then quickly narrowing to 950 feet in width, the vast 
volume leaps into an abyss 210 feet deep. Above the brink the whole 
breadth of the river is broken by a dozen small islands, which the water has 
curved into fantastic forms; rounding some into low domes, sharpening 
others into mere pillars, and now and then wearing into deep carves. A 
luxuriance of ferns and mosses, and almost tropical wealth of green leaves 
and velvety drapery line the rocks and banks, toning down what would oth- 
erwise be an oppressively rugged setting to a picture of rarest beauty. 
Nature has left little for the hand of art to finish here. 

Here is an elegant pen picture by the lamented Richardson: "The cat- 
aract is unequal ed in the world, save by the Niagara, of which it vividly re- 
minds us. It is not all height like Yosemite, nor all breadth and power like 
the Great Falls of the Missouri, nor all strength and volume like the Niagara, 
but combines the three elements. The torrent is less than Niagara, and its 
crescent summit appears less than 1,000 feet wide. But the descent— 210 
feet — is one-third greater, while above the brink, solemn portals of lava, 
rising for hundreds of feet on each bank, supply an element of grandeur 
which the monarch of cataracts altogether lacks. The fall itself is of the 
purest white, interspersed with myriads of glittering, glassy drops — a cata- 
ract of snow with an avalanche of jewels. Mocking and belittling all hu- 
man splendor, nature is here in her lace and pearls, her robe of diamonds 
and tiara of rainbow." 



126 IDAHO. 

On th« south bank of the river, which is reached by ferry, is a well-built 
and eleg amtly-furnished hotel, where the tourist will find excellent accom- 
modations. It is located on a beautiful natural lawn 200 feet above, and 
overlooking the falls. From its balconies can be enjoyed all the finer 
aspects of the magnificent panorama above faintly outlined. A guide is at 
hand to point out the many wonders in the immediate vicinity. Among 
these are the Twin Falls of Snake Kiver, about three miles above the Great 
Falls. These are 150 feet high and are well worth a visit. Interesting ex- 
cursions, boating, fishing, and hunting, all are here to invite a summer so- 
journ. Stages make the trip to and from the railroad in a few hours. 

North of Shoshone about fifty miles, the "Wood River branch of the Ore- 
gon Short Line fairly enters the great Wood River region. Hailey and 
Ketchum, located in the heart of this region, probably arrive as near to all 
the requirements of the tourist and health-seeker as any of the resorts 
of Idaho. They are only twelve miles apart by rail, both picturesquely 
located on the banks of Wood River, Hailey at an altitude of 5,200 feet, and 
Ketchum about 500 feet higher. 

The tourist who wishes an " outing" where he can enjoy all the advan- 
tages of luxurious hotel accommodations and the aids incident to tourist life 
in one of the prettiest and most progressive little cities in the whole West 
will be suited at Hailey. Its superb location in the beautiful wood River 
Valley, in the midst of lofty mountain ranges and on the banks of the swift 
Wood River, is most attractive. Its delightfully cool, summer climate, and 
its atmosphere, alone a luxury to breathe, are always restful and invigorat- 
ing to the visitor from the heated East. Then the bustle, thrift and taste 
of its 2,500 people, as evidenced by its splendid public buildings and hand- 
some homes, its electric lights, water-works, and other adjuncts to a 
high civilization, are all conducive to the enjoyment of the health or pleasure 
seeker. 

The Alturas and Merchant's hotels, solid three-story brick structures, 
with ample accommodations for 150 guests each, are a genuine surprise to 
all comers. They are elegantly furnished, and the Alturas, whose every 
apartment is lighted with electricity and whose construction and furnish- 
ings were with special regard to the wants of tourists, commands a vista of 
mountain, river, and valley scenery that is a perpetual delight. The river 
and several creeks within five minutes' walk are alive with mountain trout. 
The nearer valleys and hillsides afford good grouse and chicken shooting, 
while tne forests within a. day's drive are full of deer and bear. A twelve- 
miie drive down the beautiful Wood River Valley takes the sportsman to 
Silver Creek, which is known far and near as the finest trout stream in the 
western mountains and also affords good duck shooting. 

But the crowning glory of this whole region is the famous Hailey Hot 
Springs, located in full view of the town, and only a mile and a half distant. 
The ride or walk thither is very pleasant, leading through a picturesque 
little valley, and the location, in a lovely glen in sight of several rich mines, 
is very pleasing. Large volumes of water of a temperature of 144°, and 
containing sulphate of soda, iron, magnesia, sulphur, and other desirable 
ingredients, are emitted from scores of springs. Four commodious rock- 
walled and cemented swimming baths, and many solid porcelain tub baths 
are provided. These are all supplied with elegantly-appointed dressing 
rooms, lighted by electricity, and under the same roof as the luxuriously- 
furnished chambers. Many patients have gone to these with chronic cases, 
believed to be hopeless, of neuralgia, paralysis, dyspepsia, inflammatory or 
mercurial rheumatism, and other complaints for which the Arkansas 
springs are considered a specific, and after a few months of bathing and 
drinking, have left completely restored. The baths are, however, still 
more popular with those in good health, thousands visiting them annually 
for the delightfully exhilarating effects of a plunge, and for the many 
attendant pleasures of this all but perfect resort. The many attractions are 



IDAHO. 127 

thus briefly outlined by a Chicago visitor, of the autumn of 1888, in a letter 
to his home paper: — 

"The Hailey Hot Springs site proves a princely domain, embrac- 
ing as many natural beauties and advantages for the scheme now 
unfolding as any between the oceans. To commence with, the hot 
and cold water from the various groups of springs were piped sep- 
arately through pipes ranging from four to six inches in diameter 
down to the most commanding site in full view of, -and only one 
and a half miles from, Hailey, and thence led all through the ample grounds 
and to the various building sites. This superb water system has used up 
nearly two miles of pipe, and both hot and cold water have such a gravity 
pressure that they can be thrown all over the buildings. Then upon foun- 
dations broad and deep, was placed the main building, over 100 feet square, 
with numerous wings and broad verandas, almost entirely encircling it. It 
is a two-story structure in the old colonial style, most pleasing and appro- 
priate in its setting of lofty mountains and nearer stretches of picturesque 
valleys. This main building embraces ample restaurant and dining facilities, 
parlors, reading rooms, billiard rooms for ladies and gentlemen, ten-pin 
alleys, a grand banqueting and ball room, with a monster old-fashioned fire 
place in one end, large enough to receive the largest cordwood, etc. It also 
includes ladies' and gentlemen's dressing and toilet rooms, and numerous 
solid porcelain baths on both upper and lower floor, and a superb comple- 
ment of chambers on the second floor, from the windows and balconies, of 
which can be obtained views which should entrance any one short of a mis- 
anthrope. Then, near by, there are ladies' and gents' swimming baths 
thirty by sixty feet each, of solid masonry, and smoothly cemented with 
the best Portland cement. These have ample dressing rooms by the 
dozen, in which the bather can recline in easy chairs or upon comfortable 
lounges. 

"There are other smaller plunge baths for ladies and gentlemen, but 
what a royal place for a health-giving douche are these large rock-walled, 
rock-bottomed plunges ! There is nothing like them in all the West that I 
know of, and if they are not quite good enough for the most fastidious 
bather, think of those snowy porcelain tubs, each with its luxuriously-ap- 
pointed dressing room. Other features are artistically ]aid-out grounds, 
the whole to form a perfect park, with its rippling mountain brooks, placid 
lakes, and dashing waterfalls, sequestered walks, pleasant drives, ample 
croquet, lawn tennis, and other amusement grounds — in fact, about every- 
thing to coax the visitor to one long summer's pleasure. Hot and cold 
water is led every where in all rooms, even through the commodious barns. 
The entire establishment is heated with steam. Nor will there be a nook 
or corner in which the electric light will not gleam forth. Electric annun- 
ciators are found in every apartment, even to every dressing room of every 
bath, and speaking tubes connect the barns, restaurant, and other leading 
apartments with the office. The company are simply doing what the great 
merits of the waters, the unsurpassed location, the all but perfect climate, 
the superb trout fishing and hunting, magnificent scenery, and the miles 
of the finest natural drives to be found in any mountain country on earth, 
fully justify. These springs, with the rudest appliances, have worked 
wonderful cures upon hundreds who have come afflicted with rheumatism, 
dyspepsia, lead poisoning, liver and kidney troubles, and various disorders 
of the blood. With all these splendid facilities for their use, they will now 
soon be the resort of tens of thousands. 

Bolton's Hot Springs, located on Deer Creek, five miles from Hailey, are 
also a strong attraction. Their waters, which are led into well-arranged 
tub and plunge baths, are efficacious for all blood diseases. The drive 
thither, the fishing within a stone's throw, the boating and hunting, are all 
features worthy of note. 

Ketchum also combines many attractions for the summer visitor. There is 
choice of several streams affording superb trout fishing. Pleasant drives lead 



128 IDAHO. 

into surrounding mountains in all directions, and the summer climate is all 
that could be desired. The Guyer Hot Springs, however, are the great 
attraction at Ketchum. They are located in a most romantic nook about 
two miles from Ketchum, on the banks of Warm Springs Creek. An 
immense volume of water here bursts from many crevices in the rocks, at a 
temperature of about 150°, and where not confined, drops in many pretty 
falls into the creek, some twenty feet below. These springs are especially 
applicable to the cure of rheumatism, and the long train of diseases led by or 
intimately associated with dyspepia, gout, liver complaints, and impurities 
of the blood. Patients suffering with such disorders often derive about as 
much benefit from drinking the waters as from bathing in them. Among 
the improvements are a two-story hotel, in which Brussels carpets and nice, 
soft beds are leading features, with reception and dining hall, billiard halls, 
extenive stables, cottages for guests, two large plunge baths, a number of 
tub baths, etc. The water is conveyed through pipes from the springs to 
the several bath houses, and is so arranged that any desired temperature 
can be had. Some neatly furnished sleeping rooms have baths attached, so 
that patients who desire can have all the benefits without any exposure to 
the outer air, or without necessitating leaving their room. The cuisine 
and all details of entertainment are home-like and excellent. Following is 
an analysis of the Guyer Spring water, made bycProf. R. Ogden Doremus, 
of Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York: — 

Grains per 
Imp. gal. 

Sodium Chloride 3.578 

Sodium ^Carbonate 9.965 

Calcium Sulphate. .. , 6.574 

Magnesium, Sulphate 0.534 

Magnesium, Chloride 0.914 

Organic Matter, with traces of Iron and Silica 1 .240 



Total Solids , 22.805 

North of Ketchum twenty-five miles is the wonderfully, rugged Saw- 
tooth region, so named on account of the abruptness of the mountain 
range, which is its central figure. It is the ideal " camping out " corner of 
Idaho. Hundreds yearly avail themselves of its surpassing attractions in 
the way of enchanting lakes, towering snow-capped mountains, trout 
streams, and hot springs. The trip from either Hailey or Ketchum is one 
of continued delight, and everything in the way of an outfit can be procured 
at either place. An exhilarating atmosphere and healing waters, in the 
midst of noble pines and enchanting scenery, fishing, hunting, riding, and 
exploring, and excellent hotel accommodations, an ever-fruitful field for the 
mind in the mining, milling, and railway enterprises — these, together with 
an easy accessibility, are a few of the attributes which in the future will 
render Hailey and Ketchum the most popular of Rocky Mountain resorts. 

Among the attractions of Western Idaho are the Boise Hot Springs, four 
miles east of Boise City. The springs are highly medicinal, containing 
iron, sulphur, soda, lime, and magnesia. There are vapor, shower, plunge, 
and mud baths. The temperature of the springs varies from 125° to 220° 
Fahrenheit. They are already favorite resorts, and need only to be known 
to become widely celebrated. 

Tourists will be interested in the fact that Idaho possesses about 600,000 
acres of lake area. Scattered among the mountain ranges ire countless 
lakes of every destription. Kootenai is the lake county of Idaho. Within 
her boundaries are Coeur d'Alene, Pend d'Oreille, Kanisku, Cocolalla, and 
numerous smaller lakes. Coeur d'Alene Lake is about thirty miles long, with 
a width varying from two to four miles. A daily line of steamers plies its 
waters from Coeur d'Alene, to the Old Mission. Its waters are clear and 
cool, and abound in fish. The banks are mountainous, covered with timber, 
Coeur d'Alene, St. Josepk and St. Mary's Rivers flow into it, and the Spo- 



IDAHO. 129 

kane is its outlet. At the lower end of the lake a commodious hotel offers 
accommodations for visitors and tourists. 

Lake Pend d'Oreille is doubtless one of the most beautiful sheets of water 
in the United States. It is of irregular shape, about sixty miles in length, and 
of a width varying from three to fifteen miles. It is in reality a widening 
of Clark's Fork, and winds its picturesque way among the wood-covered 
mountains, which rise up from its shores in a never-ceasing panorama of 
beautiful surprise. There are two steamers on the lake at present. If un- 
surpassed natural scenery, abundance of fish, and plenty of game in the 
surrounding forests can offer any attractions, Pend d'Oreille must, within a 
few years, become one of the most noted resorts in the Northwest. 

Kani^ku Lake, in the northern part of the county, is about twenty miles 
long, and half as wide. This and others are situated in wild and still unex- 
plored regions. Lake Waha is a favorite resort for the people at Lewiston. 
It is a small sheet of water not two miles long, and about half a mile wide. 
Its banks are precipitous, and covered with timber. One of its chief claims 
to popularity is its abundance of trout. An enthusiastic writer, in refer- 
ring to Waha, says: "Nothing we have ever seen can exceed the tranquil 
beauty of this sylvan, this idyllic scene, with its mountain solitudes, un- 
broken by a discordant sound, and its wealth of charming landscape and 
xanthic skies." 

Payette Lake is one of the sources of Payette River. It is situated in 
Boise county, about eighty-five miles north of Caldwell, on the Oregon 
Short Line, and is rapidly becoming a favorite resort for the people of 
Southern Idaho. It is about ten miles long and about half as wide. It is sur- 
rounded by mountains and is famous for its trout, red fish, and white fish. 
Its depth is unknown. 

Among the most beautiful of the smaller lakes is Tahoma, situated in 
the Sawtooth Mountains at an elevation of 8,000 feet. It is about forty 
miles north of Ketchum, the present terminus of the Wood River Branch of 
the Oregon Short line, and is reached by one of the most picturesque 
mountain roads in the world. Twenty miles distant is the Lower or Big 
Sawtooth Lake. With the exception of the narrow, level space traversed by 
the road, the lake is mountain-locked, the peaks on one side rising a thou- 
sand feet above the surface of the water. These peaks are covered with 
evergreen timber, such as pine, spruce, and fir, while on the other side a 
mass of granite crags rises 1,500 feet. From one of these crags leaps a 
large mountain stream, forming a fall some five hundred feet high, and 
completing one of the most exquisitely beautiful pictures in ay nature. 
The lake is three by nine miles in extent, and has been sounded to a depth 
of 1,000 feet without striking bottom. 

Bear Lake lies in Southeastern Idaho and Northern Utah, the dividing 
line running through the center of the lake east and west, and is about 
twenty miles long and eight miles wide. It abounds in fish of various 
kinds, such as several kinds of trout — viz.: salmon trout, silver trout, 
speckled trout, and mountain brook trout, also mullet and white fish, as 
well as chubs. The lake is fed by several mountain streams, and these also 
abound in fish. It has an outlet emptying into Bear River in the north. 
The shores of the lake are sandy and gravelly, affording a clean and easy 
approach. The water is shallow for a distance of about a hundred yards, 
when it gradually deepens to an extent not as yet determined. The water 
is very clear, affording a view of the bottom at a depth of ten to fifteen feet. 
It is a splendid bathing resort, and the inhabitants living on its shores 
delight in this exercise, as well as others who visit the lake in the summer 
from distant localities. The Oregon Short Line skirts the northern shore. 
No doubt can exist in the mind of anyone who has visited this beautiful 
lake, but in the near future this will be a favorite summer resort for the 
sportsman, the tourist and the pleasure-seeker, and that good hotels and ac- 
commodations will be provided, and the lake decked with sails. 



130 IDAHO. 

Henry Lake, about forty miles east of the Utah & Northern Railway, on 
the Union Pacific route to Yellowstone National Park, is the admiration of 
all visitors. Its altitude is 6,443 feet, and it is two miles wide by five miles 
long. Peaks of the Rocky Mountains rise majestically 3,000 feet from near 
its shores. Its surface is dotted with islands and indented with graceful 
tongues of land, rich in foliage. Near by is Cliff Lake, which is three miles 
long by half a mile wide, and in whose azure depth 1,400 feet of line has 
failed to reach bottom. It is almost surrounded by vertical basaltic cliffs, 
while a conical pine-covered island rises from its bosom. Henry Lake and 
surroundings are well worthy a two or three days' halt, by those who de- 
light in mountaineering, hunting, fishing, and sailing, or desire rest. 

Sixteen miles south of Caldwell, on the banks .of Snake River, are the 
Given Hot Springs, which have effected some marvelous cures of rheuma- 
tism and kindred diseases. North of Caldwell from fifty to one hundred miles, 
and the great summer camping-grounds of the residents of Western Idaho. 
These are along Payette River, at Payette Lakes (already described), and 
in Salmon Meadows — a mountain park deservedly famous for its magnificent 
scenery, its superb climate, its rivers and creeks full of trout, and its 
mountain ranges alive with noble game. All these can be reached by easy 
drives from Caldwell and Weiser, on the Oregon Short Line. 

These are only a few of the Idaho resorts. Her hundreds of others from 
one to two miles above sea-level afford an atmosphere which is an elixir 
itself. Into her princely area of 55,228,160 acres are crowded every variety 
of valley and mountain temperature. Sunshine, dry streets and a maxi- 
mum of warm days may be enjoyed in her sheltered valleys in winter, or 
flowers and snow-banks and a frosty atmosphere may garnish the mount- 
ain camp-ground in midsummer. The range of mineral waters for either 
bathing or drinking purposes is greater than in any region of similar extent 
on the globe. Hot sulphur and soda for bathing, cold soda, seltzer, iron, 
chalybeate and sulphur for drinking, are found at altitudes ranging from 
2,000 to 8,000 feet above the sea, and in numerous cases are within sight of 
the railway. The scenic attractions are none the less varied. The invalid, 
whose mind must feed on something, can combine business and profit with 
the great aim of his sojourn, for adjacent to the most charming health-resorts 
are Idaho's grandest mining, smelting, and railroad enterprises. These 
offer an ever fruitful study, and always present a field for business venture. 
Life everywhere is safe, and travel easy. No region of such multiplied 
attractions could be more accessible than this has now been rendered by the 
Union Pacific Railway. These unparalleled attractions have already made 
the State the resort of thousands of summer visitors in search of health 
and recreation, and the permanent home of thousands of others who have 
fled from unhealthful sections of the East. When the remarkable cures 
which have been effected by these combined agencies are better known and 
understood, when Idaho becomes less of a terra incognita to the teeming 
populations of the East, then it will be felt that no extravagant claim is 
being made for the State when it is called the " Great Sanitarium of 
the United States." 

BUSINESS OPENINGS. 

Money commands from 12 to 18 per cent per annum; Idaho affords fine 
opportunities for business men of either large or limited means, who will be 
content with profits ranging from 15 to 25 per cent interest on capital 
invested. Capital, directed by sagacity and enterprise, possesses great 
advantages here as elsewhere; indeed, the new avenues being continually 
opened by the rapid development of a beautiful new country, multiply the 
opportunities for its profitable employment. There is scarcely any reputa- 
ble vocation wherein the same capital and good management which insures 
success in Eastern communities will not yield greater returns here. Now, 



IDAHO. 131 

above all other periods, is the time to put money into commercial ven- 
tures, real estate, mines, or live stock, as the heavy immigration will 
enhance the value of such property to a degree not now possible to compre- 
hend. It is unnecessary for anyone to load himself down with the common 
necessaries of life, and transport them to such a region as Idaho. Outfitting 
houses of every nature, with such immense stocks of goods as are rarely 
found in cities of 20,000 inhabitants in the East, are found in the various 
towns of Idaho. The shipments made by these firms are so large and judi- 
ciously handled that no individual can afford to bring articles of ordinary 
use from distant States. 



* IDAHO'S AGRICULTURE. 

A gentleman writes us to inquire if we make any claims for Idaho as an 
agricultural State. Most certainly we do. Though she has vast mineral 
resources, we believe that Idaho will be known pre-eminently as an agricult- 
ural State. Agriculture is in its infancy here, yet this year's crops are re- 
ported as follows: Wheat, 3,469,300 bushels; oats, 2,140,860 bushels; barley, 
1,150,450 bushels; corn, 407,400 bushels; rye, 640,900 bushels; grass seeds, 
17,350 pounds; hay, 424,740 tons; potatoes, 1,850,900, bushels; other vege- 
tables, 838,000 bushels; apples, 277,000 bushels; pears, 29,850 boxes; peaches, 
34,850 boxes; plums and prunes, 34,350 boxes; grapes, 18,200 boxes; berries 
of all kinds, 76,600 boxes. 

Live stock returned for assessment, which undoubtedly is much less than 
the true number: Thoroughbred horses, 1,113; graded horses, 21,428: native 
horses, 105,263; mules, 2,480; jacks and jennies, 206; thoroughbred bulls, 
1,400; thoroughbred cows, 1,440; graded bulls, 4,322; graded cows, 21,067; 
range cattle, 350,225; work oxen, 1,422; imported sheep, 3,120; graded sheep, 
65,500; common sheep, 317,274; Angora goats, 5,565; hogs, 38,074. Is not 
all this a pretty good showing as an agricultural State in its infancy? 

For agricultural purposes there is no finer climate on the globe than that 
found in Idaho — and the same may be said of its soil. In Northern Idaho 
rains are frequent, and there is no resort to irrigation, which is necessary 
in Southern Idaho. Apples, pears, plums and prunes, both in quantity and 
quality, flourish in Idaho as in the most favored spots of the world. The 
amount of fruit raised per acre would seem fabulous in its statement. to any 
one not familiar with the orchards of this young State. One thousand 
bushels per acre is not an unusual average of the apple crop. The average 
grain crops can be stated at these figures: Wheat, forty bushels to the acre, 
and in some seasons the average is as high as sixty bushels; oats will average 
from sixty-five to seventy bushels to the acre; barley will average from forty- 
five to fifty bushels to the acre. Corn is not a first-class crop in Idaho. 
Potatoes, from 200 to 500 bushels per acre, and sometimes a thousand 
bushels to the acre; onions, the same as potatoes; hay, from four to seven 
tons per acre — an average probably would be a little more than five tons; of 
timothy, clover and alfalfa, there are two crops in Idaho, and sometimes 
three. 

The abundant pasturage, the great crops of hay, and her mild winters, 
make Idaho an exceptionally fine country for stock raising. So as an agri- 
cultural country, we know of no section of the Union, taking it all in all, 
that is the equal of Idaho. When 'a stranger is asked to consider our large 
crops, he should remember that Idaho, in distant ages, has been subjected 
to great volcanic overflow, which in the process of disintegration has left in 
the soil rich supplies of salts and minerals which are the luxuriant support 
of plant and vegetable life. — Boise Statesmcm. 



132 



IDAHO. 



IDAHO ALTITUDES. 

Elevations of prominent towns, lakes, valleys, etc: 



NAME. 



Albion 

Alturas Lake 

American Falls 

Atlanta 

Bear Lake 

Bellevue 

Blackf oot City 

Bloomington 

Boise City, capital of Idaho 

Big Camas Prairie, Alturas County 
Big Camas Prairie, Idaho County. , 

Bonanza City 

Burke 

Camas Station 

Cceur d 1 Alene Mission 

Craig Mountain 

Custer Mountain 

Caribou Mountain 

Centerville 

Challis 

Clawson Toll Gate 

Custer City 

Dry Creek Station 

Eagle Rock 

Estes Mountain 

Fort Hall 

Fort Lapwai 

Franklin City 

Florida Mountain 

Florence 

Fish Haven 

Forks of Lolo 

Gentile Valley (head) 

Galena City 

Gladiator Mine 

Henry Lake 

Hailey 

Idaho City 

Junction Station 

Jackson Lake 

Ketchum 

Lewiston 

Lake Pend d'Oreille 

Lake Cceur d' Alene 



Eleva- 
tion. 



Feet. 

4,400 
6,600 
4,320 
5,525 
5,900 
5,200 
4,523 
5,985 
2,800 
5,000 
3,500 
6,400 
3,900 
4,722 
2,280 
4,080 
8,760 
9,854 
4,825 
5,400 
4.300 
6,560 
5,689 
4,720 
10,050 
4,783 
2,000 
4,516 
7,750 
8,000 
5,932 
4,450 
5,245 
7,900 
9,700 
6,443 
5,350 
4,263 
6,329 
6,806 
5,700 
680 
2,003 
2,150 



NAME 



Long Valley 

Murray 

Malad City 

Market Lake 

Montpelier 

Mouth of Port Neuf Paver 

Mount Idaho City 

Montana,Mine 

Meade Mountain 

Malad Divide 

Oneida Salt Works '. 

Oneida (town) 

Oxford 

Paris 

Pocatello 

Paris Peak 

Placerville 

Putnam Mountain 

Quartzburg 

Rathdrum 

Ross Fork Station 

Red Rock Ranch 

Rock Creek 

Rocky Bar 

Red Fish Lake 

Sawtell's Peak 

St. Charles 

St. George 

Salmon City 

Soda Springs 

Silver City 

Sawtooth City 

Shoshone 

Summit, between Challis and Bo 

nanza 

Summit, between Boise City and 

Idaho 

Summit, between Idaho City and 

Centerville 

South Mountain City 

Salmon Falls 

War Eagle Mountain 

Weston 

Weiser City 



Eleva- 
tion. 



Feet. 

3.700 
2,750 
4,700 
4,795 
5,793 
4,522 
3,480 
9,500 
10,540 
9,220 
6,300 
5,700 
4,862 
5,836 
4,512 
9,522 
5,100 
8,933 
5,115 
2,000 
4,394 
4,792 
4,513 
5,200 
6,600 
9,070 
5,932 
5,771 
4,030 
5,779 
6,680 
7,000 
4,587 

9,100 

4,815 

4,812 
6,450 
3,226 
7,980 
4,600 
2,340 



WILL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT. 



Any Ticket Agent in the United States or Canada can sell Tickets, check Baggage, and arrange 

for Pullman Palace Sleeping Car berths, via the Union Pacific Railway. 

Do not complete your arrangements for a Western trip until you have 

applied to the undersigned. Additional information, Maps, 

Time Tables, etc., will be cheerfully furnished. 



ALBANY, N. T.— 23 Maiden Lane. 

J. D. Tenbroeck, Traveling Passenger Agt. 
BOSTON, MASS.— 290 Washington Street. 

Willard Massey, Traveling Passenger Agt. 

James S. Smith, Traveling Passenger Agent. 
BUFFALO, N. T.— No. 46 Exchange Street. 

A. Lundquist, Traveling Passenger Agent. 
BUTTE, MONT.— Cor. Main and Broadway. 

E. V. Maze, General Agent. 
CHEYENNE, WYO.— C. W. Sweet, Freight and 

Ticket Agent. 
CHICAGO, ILL.— 191 South Clark Street. 
W. H. Knight, General Agent Freight Dept. 
W. T. Holly, General Agent Passenger Dept. 
T. W. Young, Traveling Passenger Agent. 
J. A. Hughston. Traveling Freight Agent. 
L. L. Davis, Traveling Freight Agent. 
N. R. Halliday, Passenger Agent. 
CINCINNATI, OHIO.— Room §5, Carew Bldg. 
J. D. Welsh, General Agent Freight and 

Passenger Departments. 
L. C. Morris, Traveling Freight Agent. 
A. G. Shearman, Traveling Freight and 
Passenger Agent. 
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.— 14 Pike's Peak 
Avenue. 
W. G. Rice, City Ticket Agent. 
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA.— A. J. Manderson, 
General Agent, U. P. Transfer. 
J. W. Maynard, Ticket Agent. 
J. C. Mitchell, City Ticket Agent, 421 B'way. 
DENVER, COLO.— 1703 Larimer Street. 
Geo. Ady, General Agent Passenger Dept. 

F. W. Angier, Traveling Passenger Agent. 
E. G. Patterson, City Ticket Agent. 

H. M. Clay, City Passenger Agent. 
Scott Bryan, Ticket Agent, Union Depot. 
DES MOINES, IOWA.— 218 Fourth Street. 

E. M. Ford, Traveling Passenger Agent. 
DETROIT, MICH.— 155 Jefferson Avenue. 

D. W. Johnston, Traveling Passenger Agent. 
HELENA, MONT.— 28 North Main Street. 

H. O. Wilson, Freight and Passenger Agent. 
KANSAS CITY, MO.— 1038 Union Avenue. 

J. B. Frawley, Gen'l Agt. Passenger Dept. 

H. G. Kaill, General Agent Freight Dept. 

J. B. Reese, Traveling Passenger Agent. 

H. K. Proudfit, City Passenger Agent. 

T. A. Shaw, Ticket Agent. 

R. D. Speck, City Ticket Agt., 1000 Main St. 

A. W. Millspaugh, Ticket Agt., Union Depot. 
LONDON, ENG.— Ludgate Circus. 

Thos. Cook & Sons, European Pass'r Agts. 
LOS ANGELES, CAL.-229 South Spring St. 

G. F. Herr, Passenger Agent. 

W. H. Davenport, Agent Freight Dept. 

J. S. Judd, Traveling Freight Agent. 
NEW ORLEANS, LA.— 129 Common Street. 

J. P. Douglass, Jr., General Agent. 
NEW YORK CITY.— 287 Broadway. 

R. Tenbroeck, General Eastern Agent. 

Sam'l A. Hutchison, Traveling Pass'r Agt. 

J. F. Wiley, City Passenger Agent. 
OAKLAND, CAL.— 918 Broadway. 

F. R. Ellsworth, Passenger Agent. 
OGDEN, UTAH.— Union Depot. 

C. A. Henry, Ticket Agent. 

G. H. Corse, Passenger and Freight Agent. 



OLYMPIA, WASH.— Percival's Wharf. 

J. C Percival, Ticket Agent. 
OMAHA, NEB.— 9th and Farnam Streets. 

C. J. Lane, Division Freight Agent. 
Frank N. Prophet, Travelipg Pass'r Agt. 
Harry P. Deuel, City Ticket Agent, 1302 

Farnam Street. 
H. E. Dunn, City Passenger Agent, 
J. K. Chambers, Ticket Agent, Union Depot. 
PHILADELPHIA, PA.— Room 3, No. 20 S. 
Broad Street. 
S. C. Milbourne, Traveling Passenger Agt. 
PITTSBURGH, PA.— Rooms 307 and 308, Fer- 
guson Block. 
Sam'l A. Meyers, Traveling Passenger Agt. 
PORTLAND, ORE.— 254 Washington Street. 
W. H. Hurlburt, Assistant Gen'l Pass'r Agt. 

D. C. O'Reilly, Traveling Freight Agent. 
V. A. Schilling, City Ticket Agent. 

E. S. Van Kuran, Ticket Agent, Grand Cen- 
tral Station. 

PUEBLO, COLO.— Cor. Union Ave. and 1st St. 
A. S. Cuthbertson, General Agent Freight 
and Passenger Departments. 
ST. JOSEPH, MO.— Chamber of Commerce. 
S. M. Adsit, General Freight and Passenger 
Agent, St. J. & G. I. R. R. 

F. P. Wade, City Ticket Agent, Corner 3d 
and Francis Sts. 

Jo. Hanson, Ticket Agent, Union Depot. 
ST. LOUIS, MO.— 213 N. 4th Street. 
J. F. Aglar, General Agent Freight and Pas- 
senger Departments. 
N. Haight, Traveling Passenger Agent. 
E. R. Tuttle, Traveling Passenger Agent. 
Geo. Carroll, Traveling Freight Agent. 

C. C. Knight, Freight Contracting Agent. 
SACRAMENTO, CAL.— 305 J. Street. 

J. A. Gill, Contracting Freight Agent. 
SALT LAKE CITY.— 201 Main Street. 

D. E. Burley, General Agt. Passenger Dept. 
D. S. Taggart, Traveling Passenger Agent. 
L. J. Keyes, City Ticket Agent. 

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.— No. 1 Montgomery St. 
D. W. Hitchcock, Gen'l Agt. Passeng'r Dept. 

G. W. Luce, General Agent Freight Dept. 
T. R. Tilley, City Ticket Agent. 

C. E. Brown, Traveling Passenger Agent. 
W. R. Vice, Pacific Coast Passenger Agent. 
H. K. Stahl, Traveling Freight Agent. 

J. F. Fugazi, Emigr't Agt. , 5 Montgomery Av. 
SAN JOSE, CAL.-25 West Santa Clara Street. 

L. M. Cheshire, Contracting Freight Agent. 
SEATTLE, WASH.— 705 Second Street. 

A. C. Martin, General Agent Freight and 
Passenger Departments. 
SIOUX CITY, IOWA.— 503 Fourth Street. 

D. M. Collins, General Agent Freight and 

Passenger Departments. 
Geo. E. Abbott, Trav. Frt. and Pass'r Agt. 
W. M. Enright, Citv Passenger Agent. 
Geo. F.Wheelock, Ticket Agt., Union Depot. 
SPOKANE, WASH.— Cor. Riverside and Wash- 
ington. 
Perry Griffin, Passenger and Ticket Agt. 
TACOMA, WASH.— 903 Pacific Avenue. 

E. E. Ellis, General Agent Freight and 
Passenger Departments. 

TRINIDAD, COLO.— J. F. Linthurst, Ticket 
Agent. 







UNION PACIFIC, 

"THE OVERLAND ROUTE " 

IS THE 

'MOST DIRECT LINE 

FROM 

THE MISSOURI RIVER 

TO 

All Principal Points West, 

And on Account of tie Varied Character of tie Country it Traverses, 

Offers to those who contemplate going West a more greatly diversified 
territory to select from than does any other 

TRANS-CONTINENTAL LINE. 

Passing as it does through NEBRASKA, KANSAS, TEXAS, NEW 
MEXICO, COLORADO, WYOMING, UTAH, IDAHO, MON- 
TANA, OREGON and WASHINGTON, every business interest is to 
be found along its line. . . • . • . • . • . • 

"Fni» +ho pQT»moT» thousands of acres of rich agricultural land are 

rur tne rarmer, yet open for set tiement. 

For the Stock-Raiser, ^^^^ m ^ mt grazi * g lands 

"Pm> +ho lVTinov ^ e S iea ^ mountains of the West await but the open- 
J. Ul lilU lYlliiUl | - n g to k ecom e ^] ie g ource of large fortunes, and 

Vc\v tViP "RnQ-inPQQ Man the g rowin g cities and towns of the West 
rUl LUC DUbmbbb IVldn, are daily offering unevi ualed opportuni- 
ties for investment of capital and location of industries which are unsur- 
passed by older sections of the United States. 



For pamphlets descriptive of the above named States or Territories, or 
any information relative to the Union Pacific, call on or address any agent 
of this Company, whose name is given in the list on the inside cover, or 

E. DICKINSON, E. L. LOMAX, 

General Manager. Gen'l Passenger & Ticket Agent. 

OJ&J^ttJL, UBBEASKA. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




